Mending Hearts: A Sonic Adventure 3 Prequel
by ThePhantomHedgehog
Summary: Siris, a humble doctor of a small town, takes it upon himself to take in and care for a young slave. As the two learn more about each other, a dangerous threat goes after Sylvie. Will Siris be able to protect her? And what of his fragmented memories? Will the past provide answers that Siris has been seeking? Will he be able to teach Sylvie how to feel again? (Ch. 3/12 Completed)
1. Chapter 1: Solemn Origins

***Pokes head out from fortified… fort***

**Uh… hi! Heh-heh… ****Soooooo… anyone see the Sonic movie? It was pretty good~! 8.4/10 IMO… ****Yeah, I, uh… finally got around to writing this…**

***Ahem* Alright, look, long story short, I had to redo a bunch of stuff in the original SA:D&R story and I decided to just reboot the whole thing. I got the first two chapters done, but I felt that they weren't exactly what I wanted and never released them. So, I redid everything AGAIN and now I'm satisfied with the story I have planned.**

**This story takes place about three months after the events of Sonic Forces. The events of Team Sonic Racing also begin at this time as well. There will be some references to other Sonic media, but not much. I'll go into more detail as the story progresses. ****I want to point out that this story is a crossover, but I won't reveal what it is until chapter 9 due to… **_**reasons**_**. ****It doesn't matter what you say, I'm not gonna tell you what- It's "Teaching Feeling: Life With a Slave". *****Awkward Silence* ****Look… don't judge me… I don't wanna hear it. And no, there will not be any of **_**those **_**scenes in this story.**

**One last thing to note; like I did with SA:D&R, there will be soundtracks listed throughout the story. You don't **_**have **_**to listen to them while reading, it's just a suggestion. You'll find them on YouTube. Since I can't post links, this will have to do:**

**[ Title of Video ] **(Name of uploader) **(Timestamps and/or "Loop" if this section is presented)**

**( Music ends / fades )  
**

**With that, let's get this show on the road. I now present to you… "Mending Hearts".**

**Ver. 1.0.0 (3/7/20)**

**Standard Disclaimer, I only own my OC and certain character designs. All characters and media belong to their rightful owners. Sonic the Hedgehog belongs to SEGA. Teaching Feeling belongs to Ray-Kbys. Okay… let's get started.**

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⋅**ʚ**❤**ɞ**⋅ **Mending Hearts **⋅**ʚ**❤**ɞ**⋅

**A Sonic Adventure 3: Dark Revivals Prequel**

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

⋅**ʚ**❤**ɞ****⋅ Chapter 1: ****Solemn Origins **⋅**ʚ**❤**ɞ**⋅

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**[ Teaching Feeling – Jelly Honey ] **( JorgeMx ) **(Loop)**

"Alright… so you want a roast beef sandwich on white and you want a tuna sandwich, toasted, correct…? It'll be ready in 15 minutes."

The Mobian waitress awkwardly and recklessly glided across the café floor as she carried her tray of food for other customers around. She hummed playfully as she went over to a booth on the other side of the café and placed the orders in front of the respected customers.

"Here ya go~!" the hedgehog waitress chimed, "Enjoy your lunches."

She spun around on her heels, causing her three waist-length braided quills to swing through the air, and staggered her way towards the kitchen. Nearby, another Mobian hedgehog, who was seated alone at a table, glanced over watched the waitress' carefree movements until she vanished behind the doors. He had three large quills growing out his head; two out the side, similar to Silver the Hedgehog's and the third growing out between them; three small quills growing out his back; two normally placed quills and a third just above them; a pair of white gloves and a pair of black sneakers.

"Heh," he smirked to himself before he lifted his cup and finished what little tea remained inside.

He then put the last of his sandwich into his mouth and finished that as well. His eyes shifted towards the window next to him, where he saw humans and Mobians walking around the fairly large town, minding their own business and getting along with their day. He was lost in thought when some approached his table and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hm!?" he exclaimed, slightly jumping in his seat as he turned his head to see who it was.

"Gotcha~," the waitress smiled mischievously as she released the spherical turquoise dread bead she used to tap him on the shoulder with from her hand.

"Jeez, Nephy…" the hedgehog groaned, "Saying my name would have sufficed; you didn't need to startle me."

"Aw, come on… what's the harm in having a little fun?" Nephy replied, "Besides, I wanted to chat with you."

"The weather is lovely," the hedgehog smirked, "There. We talked. Now I'll pay for my lunch and head back to the clinic while you get back to work."

Nephy frowned as she put her left hand on her hip and balanced the tray of food and drinks with her right hand and shoulder.

"How about we talk about something _fun_, Siris?" Nephy asked playfully.

Siris glanced into Nephy's cornflower blue and emerald green respected eyes, raising an eyebrow.

"Your definition of fun might be different from mine," he replied.

"True, true," the waitress replied, "Hey… what do you think of my new look?"

"Wait, you have a new look?" Siris dryly joked.

"Very funny, doctor," Nephy smirked, "Seriously though, what do you think?"

Siris decided to humor the piper-brown young adult and checked out her new clothes. She was wearing a black and horizon blue leather long sleeve corset dress with white gloves and a black leather miniskirt with a tie up side split that was bordered with the same color blue. Her thigh high leather lace up boots, which did well to cover most of her black stockings and garter belts, followed the same color palette as her outfit and had a strap around each foot. A brown belt was fastened around her waist and had a string of small black beads and the occasional large turquoise ball beads that hung across Nephy's right hip. A horizon blue simple ribbon bow choker necklace hung from a white faux shirt collar around her neck. He didn't notice it at first, but some of Nephy's quills, which were barely neck length at the sides, had been dyed a pelorous blue color, complementing her clothes.*****

"You look nice," Siris announced, looking her back in the eyes, "Gives you a bit of a gothic look. And I see you kept the silver ring piercings in your right ear."

"You seeing anyone?" Nephy asked bluntly.

Siris couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head.

"No, I'm not seeing anyone," he replied, "Mind letting me pay so I can get going?"

"Really? You're not seeing _anyone_?" Nephy asked, "Why not?"

Siris reached behind and pulled out a small brown pouch.

"How much do I owe you?" Siris asked.

"You can't tell me you just get up, work in your clinic, eat, and go to bed every night!" Nephy exclaimed, "Don't you have friends? Or have your eyes on anyone?"

"Will 25 rings cover it?" Siris asked, not interested in having this conversation.

"***Sigh***… Yeah, it will," Nephy replied as she took the rings and placed them on the tray, "You should get out more, ya know? You're a great looking guy, with that dark sapphire fur of yours and those pumpkin orange eyes. Don't you hate being alone?"

"Are you trying to get me to ask you out?" Siris asked, playfully raising a brow.

"Whaaaaat~? Me~?" Nephy sang as she spun around on her toes a few times before she struck a pose and glanced over her shoulder and smirked, "Never."

"Uh-huh," Siris nodded as he got up and pushed his chair in, "To answer your question, yes, it's not fun being alone."

Nephy straightened herself up and gave Siris a look.

"See you around, Nephy."

**( Music Fades )**

Siris made his way around her and exited the café. As he walked down the semi-busy streets of Blue Moon Village, Siris couldn't help but think about what Nephy said.

"It's not that I _want _to be alone," he sighed to himself, "I just don't want to lose anyone close to me again."

His mind went back to that fateful time…

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_**10 Years Ago…**_

**[ Custom Themes: Robotropolis ] **( Purple Jester )

As a pair of Hover-Units flew by, a group of three Swat-Bots patrolled their current sector in Robotropolis. A rust piece of metal fell free from the top of a scrap pile and clanged against various objects as it fell, getting a Swat-Bot's attention. It glanced around the area for a moment for intruders. With no signs of anything, the Swat-Bot turned back and joined its squad.

"Scans aborted," it reported, "No organic lifeforms detected. Resuming patrol."

Without being noticed, a blue hedgehog poked his head out from behind the junkpile and glanced around. He then jumped back and landed on the ground.

"Come on!" he whispered over his shoulder, beckoning others to follow him, "The coast is clear!"

Nearby, Princess Sally Acorn of the Kingdom of Acorn, Bunnie Rabbot, and Antoine D'Coolette**** **approached Sonic. As she joined Sonic, Sally gestured towards a small pile of scrap and three other Mobians approached the group. The first was a red spork, the other was a pig wearing a blue vest, and the third was a hedgehog with dark sapphire fur, orange eyes, pair of black sneakers with white tips on his feet, white gloves, and a brown backpack on his back.

"Let's go over the plan one last time," said Sonic.

The gang nodded and Sally pulled out a small handheld.

"Nicole," she said.

"Yes, Sally," Nicole replied.

"Bring up the map of the facility."

On command, Nicole activated a holo-map of the factory.

"Sonic, Bunnie, and Antoine and I will enter the facility through here," Sally explained, pointing to a catwalk that was connected to a watchtower nearby, before turning to the other Freedom Fighters, "The three of you will enter through the hanger here. While Sonic is distracting the Swat-Bots, you'll provide him assistance-"

"Heh, like I'll need it," Sonic smirked.

"- _if he needs it_," Sally added, playfully taunting the hedgehog's ego, "At the same time, you'll also set up some explosives in several locations. Here… here… and here."

"Robotnik will never know what hit 'im," Bunnie smirked.

"There's a network terminal in this room," Siris noted, pointing to a room in the basement levels, "I can lure the Swat-Bots away from there, getting you access to it, your highness."

"You sure you can handle it, Siris?" Sally asked, "And how many times must I tell you, just call me 'Sally'."

"I'll put that under consideration, your highness," Siris smirked.

"***Sigh* **Very well," Sally replied, "Bunnie, Antoine and I will gather as much data as we can before time runs out."

"I hope ze bombs don't go off too soon," Antoine said.

"As long as we stick to the plan, there should be nothing to worry about, Antoine," said Sally, "Everyone ready?"

"Ready!" everyone replied.

"Alright," said Sonic, "Let's do it to it!"

In a blink of an eye, Sonic took off towards the facility.

"Good luck," Sally told the Freedom Fighters as they parted ways.

Siris followed his two companions towards the nearby hanger. Once they were inside, they began heading up the spiraling metal steps up to a catwalk, but Siris stopped as soon as he stood on the first step.

"What's wrong?" one of his partners asked.

"You two go on ahead," Siris told them, "I'll take a different route."

The two Mobians raised a brow before Siris thumbed over to a metal grate that led into a ventilation shaft.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" the other asked as Siris grabbed the grate.

"Makes no sense for the three of us to be in one place to provide cover for Sonic," Siris explained over his shoulder, "We can cover more ground like this."

"If you say so, Siris," said the first, "Stay safe."

"You too," Siris replied as he pulled the grate off and hopped inside.

The two Freedom Fighters nodded to each other and hurried up the steps.

**( Music Fades )**

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**Stage 01: Swat-Bot Factory**

Inside the facility, two Swat-Bots marched down a hallway as Siris watched from the vents above. As soon as the robots disappeared behind an automatic door, the hedgehog kicked the small grate, causing it to swing open. He hopped down and landed in the hall.

"Hopefully there won't be that many Swat-butts to deal with today," Siris said to himself as he turned and hurried down the hall, away from the Swat-Bots.

He turned a corner and found himself running across a catwalk that was built over a constructed trench.

"Looks like it leads deeper down into the factory," Siris noted when he quickly glanced down.

Suddenly, a pair of Swat-Bots stepped on the catwalk from an entryway not far ahead.

"Time to take the scenic route," the hedgehog gulped before he grabbed the guardrail and vaulted over it.

He managed to escape the Swat-Bots line of sight at the last second before they had the chance to detect him. Siris landed on the landed slope and slid towards the depths of the factory. A moment later, red emergency lights began to blink and the alarm rang.

"_Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" _a Swat-Bot announced over the speakers, _"Priority One Hedgehog in assembly facility! Priority One Hedgehog in assembly facility! All units, do not fire! Apprehend the target!"_

"Hmph," Siris smirked as he maintained his balance, "So much for relaxing. Time to have some fun!"

**[ Track 02 – Sonic Satam (Unused) ] **( Sailor & Sonic Soundtrack )

Down below, Siris saw a blue blur dashing across a catwalk. Glancing to the side, he saw two Swat-Bots chasing after Sonic. Siris leaned forward and picked up speed. As soon as he reached the bottom, he leapt into the air and kicked the closer Swat-Bot in the side of the head, causing it to bump into the other. The robots staggered backwards before hitting the guardrail and tumbling over it. Sonic looked over his shoulder, giving Siris the thumbs up. He looked ahead and saw more Swat-Bots rushing towards him. Smirking, the blue hedgehog turned towards the wall and traversed over the Swat-Bots, blowing a raspberry at the robots as he rushed by them. As Sonic ran past the door, with the Swat-Bots after him, Siris snuck his way through the door and ran down the hall. He stopped in front of one of the rooms and poked his head inside, where he found a couple of Tech-Bots working near a terminal.

"Excuse me, is this tech support?" Siris asked, "I forgot my password."

The hedgehog ran off and the Tech-Bots gave chase after him. With the Tech-Bots catching up, Siris rushed past a couple of Swat-Bots through some doors and made his way downstairs.

"Halt! Intruder!" the Swat-Bots exclaimed as they joined the Tech-Bots in the chase.

"As if!" Siris shouted as he reached the bottom of the stairs and rushed down another hallway.

As he turned a corner, Siris saw Sonic coming towards him from the other end of the hall. He reached back into his backpack and pulled out a Power Ring.

"Heads up, Sonic!" Siris shouted as he threw the ring towards him.

The speedster reached up and caught the ring. A brief but bright golden flash of light erupts from the ring before Sonic curled up into a ball and began spinning through the air. Siris slid along the ground as Sonic rocketed over him. The Swat-Bots and Tech-bots that were after their target turned the corner and Sonic drilled right through them. The robots slightly shook for a moment as electricity arced from the exposed wires seen through the circular hole in their bodies before they fell to the ground and blew up. As Sonic ran back upstairs, Siris got back up to his feet and continued running down the hall. Unfortunately, the Swat-Bots that were after Sonic were now heading towards him instead. Halfway down the hall, a long, thick cable laid on the ground, leading into the entryways of the opposite rooms. Inside each room, the other two Freedom Fighters were patiently waiting for the Swat-Bots to be in position.

"Here they come," one of them whispered.

The gap between Siris and the Swat-Bots was shrinking quickly. When the robots were a couple feet away, the two Freedom Fighters pulled on the cable, making it taut as the robots tripped over it and fell over each other. Siris vaulted himself over the pile of robots, flipped through the air, and landed on the other side before running off. The two Freedom Fighters chuckled to themselves as they ran out of the rooms and down the opposite direction. Siris exited through another door at the end of the hallway and found himself back on the catwalks, where countless assembly lines could be seen transporting parts of various robots further into the facility to be created. It was also where dozens of Swat-Bots were searching for the intruders and it didn't take long for one to glance over in Siris' direction.

"Intruder!" a Swat-Bot reported, getting the other robots' attention, "After him!"

"Time to skedaddle," said Siris as he quickly flung himself over the guardrail a second before he was grabbed.

As he fell, Siris caught sight of something flying towards him. It took him a second to realize it was Sally swinging down towards him on a cable.

"Need a lift!?" Sally called out as she released the cable and landed on a nearby catwalk.

"Don't mind if I do!" Siris called out as he grabbed the cable and swung around a pillar, "Yo, metal butt!"

A lone Swat-Bot that was patrolling the lower level of the facility turned around just in time to see Siris swinging towards him.

***CLANG***

The robot was kicked off the catwalk and fell into the abyss below.

"Enjoy your lunch break!" Siris chuckled as he slowly swung back and forth.

He glanced up and yanked on the cable hard twice. A moment later, he was quickly pulled up and he began to climb up. Up on the catwalks above, Bunnie was pulling the cable up while Antoine was fighting off Swat-Bots with his sword.

"Could we please hurry dis up, Bunnie?" Antoine asked as he pushed against the attacking robot, "Ze robots continue to appear like cockroaches."

"Almost got 'im, Ant," Bunnie replied as she continued pull the cable up, "Just gimme a sec."

"Ah!" Antoine exclaimed as he sliced the Swat-Bot's arm off and kicked it away, "Zee things I go through to stop Robotnik…"

"Got 'im!" Bunnie exclaimed, "Gimme yer hand, sugar!"

Siris reached up and took Bunnie's hand before being pulled up.

"Thanks, Bunnie," said the hedgehog, "C'mon, let's get out of here before the fireworks begin."

"Yes," Antoine replied as he back away from a large squad of approaching Swat-Bots, "I think _now _would be a good time to leave!"

The three ran off through a door and ended up in another hallway as the horde of robots closed in on them.

"How many catwalks and hallways does Robotnik have in these places!?" Siris exclaimed, "Ya think there's enough!?"

Just around the corner at the end of the hall, the other two Freedom Fighters were placing the last of the explosives inside the ventilation shaft. The spork entered the code and pushed the red button, causing a 30 second timer to appear on the screen and count down.

"Alright, let's get out of here," his partner said.

Siris, Bunnie, and Antoine turned the corner and rushed past them.

"Come on, slowpokes!" Siris exclaimed, causing them to catch up to them, "I wouldn't want to be part of the firework show, would you!?"

The Freedom Fighters hurried up the flight of stairs as the timer continued counting down.

"15 seconds left," Antoine panted, "I hope Sonic and zee princess have made eet out."

"More running, less talking, Ant," the pig told him, gasping for air.

Swat-Bots and Tech-Bots rushed down the now empty hallway, unaware of the surprise that was in store for them.

"Alert! Alert!" the speakers announced, "Intruders are escaping! Apprehend Priority One Hedgehog and the princess! Shoot other targets on sight!"

The robots turned the corner as the counter went down to 10… 9… 8…

"Wait…" Siris pondered as he and the others continued running, "Did I remember to connect the detonator to the timer?"

Everyone turned to the hedgehog in disbelief.

"WHAT!?" they exclaimed.

***KA-BOOM***

As the first explosive went off, it set off a chain reaction that set off the other explosives nearby, destroying the factory and causing smoke to start bellowing out the top.

_You know I'm burnin' way past cool!_

**( Music Fades )**

**Stage Complete**

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"Hmm… yeah… okay…" Siris smirked as he and the others watched the factory become ablaze from behind some scrap piles a fair distance away, "I _did _do it correctly."

"One of these days, your jokes are gonna come back and bite you in the butt," the spork said to Siris, glaring at him.

"Hey, lighten' up!" said a voice behind them.

The group turned around in time to see Sonic arrive, carrying Sally bridal-style.

"We destroyed the factory, didn't we?" Sonic asked.

"Indeed," Antoine sighed.

"Wow, didn't know you and the princess got married without us," Siris quipped, "Who was the best man? Tails?"

"Ha-ha, very funny, Siris," Sally remarked sarcastically as Sonic put her down and she pulled out Nicole, "Nicole, tell them what you told me and Sonic."

"Yes, Sally," Nicole replied, "More Swat-Bot reinforcements have arrived than I had anticipated. Our primary and secondary escape routes are no longer viable."

"What!?" Antoine exclaimed, "How do we escape!?"

"There is an old sewage tunnel nearby that leads to the outskirts of Robotropolis," Nicole explained, "It is our only means of escape."

"Ewww… we have to escape through Julian's mess?" Siris grimaced, "… Wait, bad joke. Don't quote me on that."

"Too late," Sonic smirked.

"Zee sewer?" Antoine asked in shock, "Sacré bleu…"

"It's better than getting' roboticized," said Bunnie.

"… No, I think I'd rather be roboticized, thank you very much," Siris replied, "Is it too late for me to surrender?"

"Come on, let's get moving," said Sonic, "Don't want to be around when the Swat-Butts get here."

Sally led the Freedom Fighters away from Robotropolis and towards a large metal pipe that was half revealed out of the ground.

"This is it," she announced as she looked around for a way inside, "We can get in through here."

Sally walked over to where a large hatch that led inside was. The moment she opened it, even the other Freedom Fighters had to pinch their noses.

"Seriously, I'll take roboticization over this," said Siris.

"Shut up, Siris!" everyone exclaimed.

"Alright, alright, sorry!" Siris replied, "Sheesh."

One by one, the Freedom Fighters hopped inside and followed Sally down the dark tunnel, using Nicole as a light source. As Sonic and Siris jumped in after them, they didn't notice the Swat-Bot Commander leading a Surveillance Orb and three Swat-Bots toward the pipe.

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A few minutes later, the team stopped in front of a split in the tunnel. The left side, which had a small ledge to drop down from, was open, but the tunnel leading right was blocked by a large metal bar grate that was hinged in the middle of the split.

"Which way do we go now, Sally-girl?" Bunnie asked.

"I'm not sure… Nicole?"

"Take the left tunnel, Sally," Nicole answered.

"We go left then," said Sally as she walked up to the small ledged and looked down, "It's hardly even a drop."

The team followed her actions until it was only Sonic and Siris left to follow. A faint noise echoed back down the tunnel, causing Siris' ear to twitch as he turned back. The tunnel they came from was straight and was supposed to be dark, but light was faintly reflecting off the far walls. Sonic was just about to hop down and join the others when he glanced over his shoulder.

"Siris?" he asked, "What's up?"

Siris took a couple steps forward and glared into the distance. A moment later his eyes widened, and he spun around in worry.

"You guys need to get out of here," he said to Sonic.

"What?" Sonic asked, "What's going on?"

"Swat-Bots are coming," Siris explained as he approached Sonic, "They'll know we went this way, even if we moved the grate to this side. Rust will give it away."

"So, what do we do?" Sally asked.

"You guys head back to Knothole. I'll distract the Swat-Bots and meet you guys there when I lose 'em," said Siris.

"Siris, that's crazy!" Sonic exclaimed, "I'll distract them. You and the others get out of here."

"Thermal scans are getting stronger!" a Swat-Bot reported in the distance, "Targets shouldn't be far now."

"No time to argue, Sonic," Siris hissed before he pushed Sonic into the tunnel.

"H-Hey!" Sonic exclaimed as he landed on his back.

***CLANG***

Before anyone could argue, Siris had swung the metal grate to the other side and locked it in place.

"Siris!" Sonic exclaimed as he got back to his feet and hopped up to the ledge.

"If one of us is going to risk getting caught, better me than you," Siris explained, "Here."

The hedgehog took off his backpack and passed it to Sonic between the bars of the grate.

"You'll have more use out of it than I will if I get caught," Siris explained.

"Closing in on targets!" a Swat-Bot announced, "They should be close."

"Siris-"

"No time to argue, Sonic," said Siris, "We can't let them know where Knothole is."

"Sonic, come on," said Sally as she grabbed Sonic's arm.

"Alright," Sonic sighed, "You be mondo-careful, Siris."

"Get going," said Siris, giving them a smile as the Swat-Bots came into view.

Sonic and Sally silently gestured to the others to follow them as they rushed down the tunnel.

"Great," Siris sighed, "This is a great idea, Siris."

"Freeze, intruder!" a Swat-Bot ordered when it noticed Siris.

"I would, but I don't have any dry ice on me," Siris quipped before he ran down the other tunnel, "Catch me if you can, Swat-Butts!"

"Intruder escaping!" the Swat-Bot exclaimed as the other robots joined him.

"Don't let him escape!" the Swat-Bot Commander ordered.

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

At the far edge of Robotropolis, Siris poked his head out of the end of the tunnel and glanced around.

"Phew…" he sighed, "Finally out. ***Sniff Sniff* **And I need a bath. Yuck…"

The hedgehog hopped down and looked around. He could still see Robotropolis in the distance, but he was relatively close to the Great Forest as well. Large piles of scrap metal laid around in the wasteland.

"Better get going before the Swat-Butts catch up and-"

"Freeze, intruder!"

"Huh!?" Siris exclaimed as dozens of Swat-Bots appeared from within the Great Forest and behind scrap piles, "… find me."

The Swat-Bots aimed their weapons at the hedgehog as they surrounded him. Out of the corner of his eye, Siris saw Sonic, Sally, and Antoine peaking from behind a bush. Sonic began to rev his legs, but Sally and Antoine grabbed his arms stopping him from rushing in. Siris looked the speedster directly in the eyes and shook his head. Sonic stopped struggling in watched in disbelief as a Swat-Bot grabbed Siris' wrists and held them behind his back. The Swat-Bot Commander appeared from the tunnel and watched as a Hover Unit landed in front of their prisoner. A Surveillance Orb flew out from the tunnel and monitored the hedgehog as the Swat-Bot holding him shoved him inside and the door closed behind them before the hovercraft lifted off and flew back to Robotropolis.

"Intruder capture complete," the Swat-Bot Commander reported, "Priority One Hedgehog has escaped, unfortunately."

"_No matter," _Julian Robotnik replied, _"Bring the prisoner to me, immediately. I have ways of making them talk."_

Sonic, Sally, and Antoine solemnly shook their heads before they disappeared behind the bushes and ran off into the forest. The Swat-Bot Commander glanced over its shoulder, just missing the Freedom Fighters.

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

**[ Sonic SatAM – Robotnik's theme Extended ] **( Fighter Builder )

Snively was typing at a control console when he received a message through his headphones.

"Sir?" he called over his shoulder.

"What is it, Snively?"

"The prisoner is here, sir," Snively replied.

"Excellent… Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh… Let him in."

Snively pressed a button on the console and the door the led into the throne room he was in opened.

"Hey, watch the arms, tin can!" Siris snapped as he was brought forward by two Swat-Bots, each holding him by the arms.

"Is this the one?"

"Yes, sir," Snively replied as he stood next to the large throne, "He was captured after helping Sonic and the other Freedom Fighters destroy the Swat-Bot factory."

"Hmmmm… perhaps he can be of use."

"Alright, alright, relax," Siris hissed as he was pushed forward toward the throne, "Jeez, touchy… Hey, wait a minute… this isn't a five-star restaurant!"

"No, it is not," said a voice that caused Siris' eyes to widen in fear.

The hedgehog slowly turned his head forward and looked at the throne's occupant, whose eyes glowed a crimson red.

"Robotnik…" Siris whispered in fear.

"Yes," the tyrant replied, petting his mechanical bird, Cluck, "And what might your name be?"

Siris shook off the fear and glared at Julian.

"What's it to ya, Butt-nik?" Siris responded.

"Ohohohoho…" Robotnik chuckled before he took a deep breath and sighed, "A rebellious one, aren't we?"

"I prefer the term 'Freedom Fighter'," Siris smirked, "Well, I can't say this was a pleasure, but I should go…"

He took a couple steps backwards, only to bump into one of the Swat-Bots that brought him in, and it grabbed his arms.

"Leaving so soon?" Robotnik asked as he got up from his throne and Cluck hopped onto his shoulder, "But we've just met. And I'd like to know so much about you."

"Well, buckle up, big boy," Siris glared, "because we'll be here for about eleven years."

"Let's skip the first ten and get straight to the important information," Robotnik smirked as he made his way to Siris.

Siris' head slowly tilted up as the dictator got closer, soon towering over the hedgehog.

"Well, I suppose I could tell you how awesome it felt blowing up that factory of yours," Siris smiled nervously.

Robotnik leaned down and glared face-to-face with Siris, causing him to slightly cower and gulp in fear.

"I never thought I'd say this," the terrifying tyrant growled, "but I'm finding you to be even more annoying than Sonic."

"Funny you say that…" Siris joked to himself.

"Pardon?" Julian asked menacingly.

"Nothing!" Siris exclaimed.

"I'll make this simple for you, rodent," Julian explained as he stood up and turned away from Siris, "You will tell me where the Freedom Fighters are hiding..."

"Or what?" Siris challenged.

"Or else…" Julian said, glancing over his shoulder, "I will roboticize you after I perform some new experiments on you."

Siris glanced across the room and saw a roboticized Mobian working at a console, causing the hedgehog and shudder.

"What will it be?" Robotnik asked.

"Give me liberty, or give me death," Siris told him.

"Hmph," Julian scoffed, "You clearly have plenty of fight left in you. Perhaps a few days in solitary will change your mind."

"Oh, joy," Siris muttered under his breath.

"You two!" Julian ordered, pointing to the Swat-Bots, "Take the prisoner to the Dark Room."

"Yes, sir," the Swat-Bots replied, and they dragged Siris away, "Stop struggling, prisoner!"

"Make me, trash can!" Siris snapped before the doors closed behind him.

"Quite a rowdy one, wouldn't you say, sir?" Snively asked as he stood next to his uncle, "Shame that Sonic wasn't captured instead."

When Julian didn't reply, Snively glanced up and saw a familiar expression on his face.

"What are you thinking, sir?" he asked.

"Something feels… off with that one, Snively," Robotnik replied.

"He's a Freedom Fighter, sir," said Snively, "There's something 'off' with all of them."

"Perhaps…" said Robotnik, "I want constant surveillance on the prisoner, Snively."

"Understood, sir," Snively replied and walked back to his console.

Julian walked back to his throne and sat down. Cluck hopped down onto the left armrests and pecked Julian's robotic arm.

"Ah, Cluck," Julian sighed as he picked his pet up and stroked its back, "What would I ever do without you?"

The robotic bird cawed in response. Snively glanced over his shoulder and rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Even if the prisoner doesn't talk, he'll still make an excellent test subject for my more… recent discoveries," Julian smiled.

"As long as you don't kill him," said a voice, startling Julian and Snively.

"Who said that!?" Julian demanded, "Who's there!?"

"Calm yourself, your highness," the voice replied, "I am simply here to offer you advice."

"What advice could you possibly offer me!?" Julian exclaimed.

"A-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-haaa…" the voice laughed, "Forgive me, your highness, I just find your ignorance to be amusing."

Cluck flew off to a nearby safe place to perch as Julian's body began to shake in anger. He gripped the ends of the armrests and his eyes burned with rage.

"Sir, please, calm down," Snively whispered as he approached him.

"My apologies," said the voice, "I just think it would be such a waste if you experimented on the child and then left him to die, or transformed into a robot, whichever you prefer."

"I'm going to give you exactly ten seconds to explain yourself or leave before I order my Swat-Bots to find you and obliterate you."

"Then perhaps this will interest you," said the voice, "What if I told you the child will grow up to become more powerful than even Sonic ever could be?"

Robotnik's body relaxed and his eyes calmed down a little.

"I'm listening," he said calmly.

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

Siris laid in his wooden bunk and stared at the ceiling.

"Man, this is boring," he yawned, stretching his arms out, "How long have I been sitting in this prison cell for?"

He got up and approached the cell door.

"Hey!" he shouted, his voice echoing down the empty hall, "Is it too much to ask for some room service!? I could also use the bathroom!"

He waited a couple seconds for a response.

"Eh," he shrugged, "Maybe they put me on hold."

His stomach began to growl as he sat down in his bunk.

"I sure would like a bite to eat," Siris muttered, "Although… knowing Robotnik, I doubt whatever will be offered to me will actually be 'food'."

Down the hall, a door opened and the sound of metal footsteps got the hedgehog's attention. A moment later, two Swat-Bots stood in front of his cell and the door opened.

"You're coming with us, prisoner," said the first.

"Nah, I'm good," Siris replied as he laid back down.

"That wasn't a request," said the second and entered the prison cell, "We have direct orders from Dr. Robotnik to bring you to the experimental lab."

Siris' eyes shot open and he sat up instantly.

"The… _experimental lab_?" he asked nervously.

"Correct," said the first Swat-Bot, "Now come with us."

Siris' eyes glanced around the room for a moment before they stopped at the robots.

"Ummm… no," he told them, "I don't think I will become Ro-butt-nik's test subject."

"You don't have a choice," said the Swat-Bots and they grabbed him by the arms.

"Oh, boy…" Siris muttered as he was dragged away.

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

Robotnik made his way down the halls of the Experiments Facility with Snively and a couple of Swat-Bots and a Tech-Bot following him close behind.

"Is the prisoner ready, Snively?" Robotnik asked.

"Yes, sir," Snively replied, "I've ordered extra restraints to ensure there is no chance for him of escaping."

"Excellent, Snively," said the tyrant, "And what of the creature with strange energy?"

"Unfortunately, the creature has lost consciousness, sir," Snively reported, "It will take some time before we can collect more energy from its body."

Robotnik stopped and glared over his shoulder. Snively gulped and began to sweat nervously as his uncle turned around and towered over him.

"B-b-but we have managed to collect five vials worth of energy, sir," Snively noted.

"Hmm…" Robotnik pondered, "That should be enough for initial testing."

The large man turned back around and continued down the hall. Snively wiped his face as he and the robots followed suit. It didn't take long before they reached their destination and entered one of the rooms. In the middle of the room, Siris was strapped to an operating table, struggling to break free.

"Stupid robots," the hedgehog muttered, "When I get out of here…"

"And what makes you think you're going to break free, hedgehog?" a familiar voice asked.

Siris looked over and saw Julian's red eyes glowing in the darkness as he walked up to the hedgehog.

"Uh, is this my psych eval?" Siris asked, "I know you're a doctor and all, but I wasn't aware you were also a quack."

"It seems that two days in solitary wasn't enough for you," Julian remarked, "No matter."

"Two days? Felt more like two hours," Siris smirked to himself.

"Here's how this will work, so I suggest you listen carefully," Robotnik said calmly, "You will tell me where your Freedom Fighter friends are hiding and maybe I'll let you go. If you don't… I'll make you life a living hell."

"Oh, really?" Siris asked, "Well, in that case, look around in the Great Forest. You'll find them there… eventually."

"A more specific location in the forest would be helpful," Robotnik remarked.

"I dunno… I can't imagine hell being much different from Robotropolis," Siris dryly joked.

"I don't think you are grasping the situation you are in… _boy_," Robotnik warned, "Tech-Bot! Enter!"

The door opened and a Tech-Bot entered, pushing a cart with five glowing, rectangular syringes filled with different colored substances.

"What are those?" Siris asked, "You shifting your focus on making glowsticks or something?"

"Something like that," Julian replied, "If you call fining a new source of energy as a glowstick."

"Oh, so you made liquid crack," Siris joked.

"Enough!" Robotnik bellowed, making Siris shut his mouth and shiver, "Last chance, hedgehog… tell me where the Freedom Fighters are hiding, or you will be injected with this latest concoction. And I haven't even tested it on anything yet… or _anyone_."

The Tech-Bot picked up a yellow glowing syringe and Siris stared into the emitted light.

"The choice is yours, boy," Robotnik smiled grimly, "What will it be?"

Siris glared at Julian and looked him dead in the eyes.

***HhaaAAAAck… ptoo***

Julian's eyes burned red as the loogie was quickly wiped off his face by the Tech-Bot. He was seething through his gritted teeth, causing Snively and the Swat-Bots to slowly back away.

"You… you _dare_?" Robotnik asked, calmly.

"Do. Your. WORST," Siris challenged.

"Tech-Bot," Julian ordered with tested patience, "Inject him with the first vial."

"Understood, sir," the Tech-Bot replied and turned to Siris.

Robotnik took a couple steps back as the robot held on to Siris' lower left arm and held it in place as it aligned the needle towards his arm. In one quick motion, the needle was inserted and the substance was injected. Siris didn't even flinch. The syringe was removed and placed next to the remaining syringes as Julian waited for a reaction. Seconds passed and nothing was happening.

"It would seem that the experimental drug has failed," the Tech-Bot stated.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Robotnik smiled.

Siris' breathing began to increase, and his left arm began to strain.

"Mmm…" he groaned.

"Feeling something, rodent?" Robotnik asked.

"Just this annoying itch on my arm," Siris replied, trying to hide the increasing pain coursing through his body.

"Is that so?" Robotnik smiled, "Perhaps another dose will help remove this itch."

The Tech-Bot grabbed the ivory white syringe and repeated to injection process.

"Huuhhh…" Siris groaned in pain as sweat began to form around his head.

"A wonderful sensation, isn't it?" Julian cruelly asked.

"Up yours," Siris replied.

The dictator simple chuckled in response.

"Quite the rebel we have here," he smiled, "If you don't tell me what I want to hear, it will get much worse."

"You'll get nothing from me, Ro-Butt-nik," said Siris.

"We shall see about that," Robotnik replied.

Siris' entire body shook as excruciating pain continued to torture him. The Tech-Bot placed the empty syringe down and grabbed a glowing red syringe.

"We have plenty more where these come from," Julian told Siris before he turned and walked away, "Administer the remaining drugs into him."

"Understood, sir," the Tech-Bot replied as it stabbed Siris with the syringe.

As Robotnik vanished into the darkness, Siris began to scream in pain, much to the tyrant's pleasure.

**( Music Fades )**

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

**[ Custom Themes: Robotropolis ] **( Purple Jester )

A patrol consisting of three Swat-Bots made their way towards Robotnik's throne room and stopped in front of the door.

"Gamma patrol, reporting in," the lead Swat-Bot announced.

"Gamma patrol arrival acknowledged," the computer lock replied, "Request patrol code for confirmation."

"Patrol code gamma: Conduit-Bravo-Red-Zero-Zero-Two-Five," the Swat-Bot replied.

"Patrol code successful," the computer announced, "Enter."

The doors opened and the Swat-Bots went inside, where Robotnik and Snively were talking.

"The squad has arrived at the village, sir," Snively reported, "Shall we commence the attack?"

Before Julian could respond, the Swat-Bots made their presence known.

"Reporting in, sir," the Swat-Bots stated.

Robotnik spun his throne around and stared at the robots before him.

"Tell me, what news do you have for me?" he asked.

"The prisoner continues to withhold information," the Swat-Bot reported, "We've already lost two Swat-Bots after they dropped their guards and the prisoner attempted to escape."

Robotnik growled in annoyance.

"The prisoner was quickly apprehended and was taken back to the experimental lab," the Swat-Bot continued.

"Tell me…" Julian said darkly, "How did a simple, powerless child manage to _almost _escape?"

"It won't happen under our watch again, sir," the Swat-Bot replied.

"You're right," Robotnik stated as his finger hovered over a button on the armrest, "It won't happen again under _your _watch."

He pushed the button and the trapdoors under the Swat-Bot's feet opened, causing the robot to fall into the dark abyss, occasionally clanking against metal pipes and girders.

"You," Robotnik stated, pointing to one of the other Swat-Bots as the doors closed, "You are now the leader of patrol gamma. _Do not disappoint me_."

"Yes, sir," the Swat-Bot replied.

Julian leaned back in his throne and groaned.

"We've had this prisoner for a week now and he continues to defy me!"

"Indeed, sir," said Snively, "Perhaps a change in technique will provide you the information you seek."

"Perhaps," Robotnik replied.

As he pondered, Julian turned to Snively and raised a brow.

"Where did we determine the prisoner is from, Snively?" he asked.

"Arrow Village, sir," Snively replied, "The same village you were about to order the attack on. What are you thinking, sir?"

A cruel and evil smile appeared on Robotnik's face.

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

Siris' breathing was labored as he fought through the pain coursing through his body. He was once again strapped to the operating table in the Experiments Facility. The Tech-Bot placed the empty syringe next to the growing pile of others on the tray as the doors opened. Robotnik and Snively entered along with the pair of Swat-Bots.

"Doctor," the Tech-Bot reported, "The prisoner continues to not answer our questions."

"Is that so?" Robotnik asked, "Tell me, hedgehog, where are those Freedom Fighters hiding?"

Siris gasped for air before he turned his head to him.

"Try looking… ***Pant-Pant* **under your fat butt," he answered.

"I must admit, I'm impressed how long you've lasted so far," said Julian, "Perhaps you need some… _convincing_."

"You won't break me," Siris responded.

"Oh? We'll see about that," Robotnik smiled, "Show him the live feed of our impending attack."

A large monitor emerged from the ceiling and lowered down towards Siris. The screen blinked on and showed live footage coming from a Security Orb of Swat-Bots following the Swat-Bot Commander, the same one that chased after Siris before, towards a village. Siris' eyes widened when he recognized the location.

"Looks familiar, doesn't it?" Robotnik asked, "It would be a shame if something were to happen to your hometown… _Siris_."

"Don't… you… _DARE_," Siris warned, taking a quick glance at the tyrant.

"Tell me what I want to know and I promise you that no harm will come to your little village," Robotnik replied.

"Screw you," Siris replied as anger grew within him.

"I'd be careful if I were you," Julian warned, "Your father… your friends… wouldn't want them to end up like your mother, would you?"

"And why should I trust you? Since when have you ever kept your promises?"

"You're right," Robotnik answered, "You shouldn't trust me. Snively!"

"Uh, yes, sir?" his nephew replied.

"Burn the village to the ground."

"NO!" Siris shouted, struggling in his restraints, "Don't you lay a hand on **anyone**!"

Snively turned to the Swat-Bots behind him and nodded his head. The Swat-Bots nodded in response and radioed the orders to the Swat-Bot Commander. Siris watched as Hover Units appeared on screen and aimed their cannons at the village. Julian's grin grew wider as Siris watched the villagers run away in fear and the buildings were blown up or set ablaze.

"You absolute… heartless… _**monster**_," Siris growled.

"Why, thank you," Robotnik chuckled, "I wouldn't expect anything less."

Siris' tear-filled eyes continued watching the screen until he saw something that made his heart drop. Coming out of a burning house, the Swat-Bot Commander carried a sapphire-blue hedgehog by the throat and threw him to the ground.

"Dad?" Siris asked in disbelief.

"Oh?" Julian asked as he peeked at the screen, "So that's your father? Shame he'll never get to see his son ever again."

The Swat-Bot Commander aim its pulse blaster rifle at the unarmed hedgehog and fired.

"_**NOOOOO!**_" Siris shouted.

Robotnik laughed at Siris' loss and the hedgehog motionlessly continued watching the screen, tears falling down his face.

"You see?" Julian asked, "All the destruction and death? Isn't it glorious?"

Siris didn't reply as the camera panned out, revealing the house next door was completely on fire. A Swat-Bot exited the structure and approached the Swat-Bot Commander.

"_All occupants are deceased," _the Swat-Bot reported, _"No survivors."_

At that moment, Siris' ear twitched and the tears stopped.

"Now, hedgehog…" Julian sneered, "Unless you want all of Mobius to suffer the same fate, I suggest you tell me where the Freedom Fighters are hiding."

Siris muttered something under his breath.

"What was that, rodent?" Julian asked.

Siris muttered under his breath again.

"Speak up, I can't hear you!" Julian exclaimed.

"You… killed my father..." Siris said calmly, "And my best friend…"

As he spoke, Siris' body began to give off a faint yellow aura.

"I swear, if you don't kill me now, _Julian_…" Siris threatened, "Nothing you do will stop me from making you pay. I _will_ kill you myself, even if I have to _die _for it."

"Fascinating…" said Robotnik as he glanced over to a nearby screen that was monitoring Siris' energy levels, "Your body is radiating energy. Not at the levels to my liking, but-"

"Drop dead," Siris hissed.

Robotnik rolled his eyes and glanced back at Siris. He couldn't explain why, but a chill went down his spine the moment he saw the hedgehog's glowing orange eyes.

"What's wrong, Julian?" Siris asked, "Scared?"

"Perhaps the delivery system needs to be changed as well," Robotnik muttered to himself, "Tech-Bot!"

"Awaiting orders, sir," the robot replied.

"Perform procedure A-E-2 on our guest," he ordered.

Snively's eyes widened as he turned to his uncle in disbelief.

"Sir!?" he exclaimed, "Are you sure that is wise?"

"Did I stutter, Snively!?" Robotnik exclaimed, getting in Snively's face, "Or do you have something to say!?"

"I-I-It's just that the procedure hasn't been fully thought out yet and-"

"Snively, look me in the eyes," Robotnik growled, "Does. It. Look. Like. I. _Care_?"

"N-no, sir," Snively replied nervously.

"Then shut up," said Julian before he stood back up and turned back to the Tech-Bot, "Begin the procedure. With _no anesthesia_."

"Understood," the Tech-Bot replied, and it turned to Siris.

Siris watched as the Tech-Bot reached under the cart and pulled out a scalpel. As the blade went closer and closer to Siris' face, Snively turned and made his way out of the room. As he walked down the hall, the screams of pain echoed around him along with Robotnik's evil laugh.

**( Music Fades )**

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

_**Present Day…**_

Siris stood in front of a large mirror as he put his white lab coat on. He looked at his reflection and took a deep breath.

"Ah, I gotta get my mind off that," he said to himself, "I shouldn't be thinking about the past."

Siris rubbed his eyes as he exited out of his bedroom and made his way down the hall.

"It's almost 1 o'clock," he muttered as he glanced at his communicator on his right write, "The patient will be here soon."

As he walked through the living room, Siris passed by his desk and grabbed the pair of ski goggles that were lying on top.

"Hello?" a voice called from outside as Siris pulled the goggles over his face and let them hang around his neck, "Doctor? Are you there?"

"Yes, I'll be there in just a moment!" Siris responded.

He quickly approached the door that connected his house and small clinic together and pushed it open. After closing the door behind him and locking it, Siris made his way to the clinic entrance and unlocked the door.

"Greetings," he said to the patient as soon as he opened the door, "Sorry for keeping you waiting. Please, come inside."

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

**{Notes}**

*** If you look up what Nephy looks like from Teaching Feeling, you can get a better understanding what she's wearing. Only, instead of human, she's a Mobian hedgehog.**

**** SatAM characters but using their Archie Post-Genesis Wave versions. This is the only thing from the Archie comics that will be used. That being said, their relationships with each other and Sonic are similar to that of Post-Genesis Wave events. I'm sure people won't like that, I don't care, this is how I'm doing things, GET OFF MY BACK.**

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

**If you haven't noticed yet, this is a PREQUEL to my (in the works) fanfic "Sonic Adventure 3: Dark Revival". The reason I'm writing a prequel is because, as I've learned the hard way with SA:D&R, trying to do a backstory of new characters within the main fanfic didn't really go to plan. The story had poor pacing and I felt like I was creating more problems the longer the story went along. So instead, I decided to write this to set up the backstory of a few characters. So, if any of you read SA:D&R (Sonic Adventure: Downfall and Redemption), that story is official VOID. Sorry, but that story is dead. I'll leave it up for the time being, or at the very least leave as an "archived" story.**

**HOWEVER… it has paved the path to Sonic Adventure 3: Dark Revival.**

**I'll repeat this when SA3:DR is released; Sonic SatAM and Sonic Underground are CANON in this "universe", but will have modifications. Those events take place before Sonic 1. I won't go into detail as to which games are "canon" or not, but for the time being, all you need to know is that SatAM, SU, and Sonic Triple Trouble are canon. Sonic Mania pretty much confirmed that STT is canon, I don't care what you say, AGAIN GET OFF MY BACK.**

**As for the Teaching Feeling element to the story… look, don't judge me. I insist you give this story a chance. I promise you; it'll make things much easier for you to understand once SA3:DR is released. ****I'm keeping it T. For those of you who know what "Teaching Feeling" is, no judging. **** I have completely planned out this whole prequel story, start to finish. Only minor details here and there need some work. I have no clue how long each chapter will be. Some may be short (5k to 10k words), others may be long (15k to 20k), and some may be insanely long (30k or more). I'm hoping to be within 5k to 20k per chapter.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!**

**Like, follow, and please review! Until next time!**

**~ThePhantomHedgehog**

**PS: Can I just say that the English language is really dumb? Don't get me wrong, it's my first and only language, but who the hell says "petted"? And why should it be "petted?" with the punctuation inside the quotation? Oh, never mind. What an absolute mess of a language.**


	2. Chapter 2: Oppressed Life

**Welcome back,**

**If you're reading this… that means you've decided to give this story a chance and for that I thank you. Anyways, let's get right into it.**

**Ver. 1.0.0 (4/17/20)**

**Standard Disclaimer, I only own my OC and certain character designs. All characters and media belong to their rightful owners. Sonic the Hedgehog belongs to SEGA. Teaching Feeling belongs to Ray-Kbys. Okay… let's continue the story.**

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

⋅**ʚ****ɞ****Mending Hearts****ʚ****ɞ**

**A Sonic Adventure 3: Dark Revivals Prequel**

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

⋅**ʚ****ɞ****Chapter 2: ****Oppressed Life****ʚ****ɞ**

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

It was just past midnight in the city of Spagonia. The streets were empty and were dimly lit by the streetlamps. Only the soft humming of a vehicle's engine echoed through the otherwise quiet city as a strange hoverbike slowly glided through.

"Heh-heh-heh," one of occupants snickered as he combed through the rings in the bag, "We sure made bank today, boss!"

The green Mobian duck spun around in his seat and lazily laid back as he glanced toward his referred superior. The amber colored vehicle was a three-seated hoverbike, dubbed the _Marvelous Queen_, was pulling a rather large storage container that was carried by the small hover flatbed that was hitched to the vehicle. The driver slightly lifted his head and glared at his partner; his blue eyes just visible under the brown fedora.

"It doesn't help that we still have a few things that need to be sold off before someone figures it out, Bean," he growled, "Don't start celebrating until we are certain all loose ends have been dealt with."

"Eh, you worry too much," Bean shrugged as he closed his eyes and rested his hands behind his head.

"It's my _job _to worry, you idiot," said the purple weasel as he focused back on driving, "If I didn't worry, we'd have been locked up years ago."

"Alright," Bean smirked, peaking through one eye, "then tell me, how do you plan on dealing with these… _loose ends_?"

Nack the Weasel took a deep breath and sighed in annoyance.

"We can easily sell most of them off, if we find the right buyers," he explained, "but there's always _that_, which will cause us the most trouble if we are not careful and find a buyer for it soon."

"Or…" Bean said in a suggestive voice, "we can have some fun and-"

"Ugh…" Nack groaned in disgust, "There's something _seriously _wrong with you, you know that?"

"Hey, it was just a suggestion!" Bean exclaimed.

"Quiet down!" Nack whispered loudly, "You really want to explain to Bark why _you _woke him up!?"

Bean tilted his head to glance around Nack and see the large sleeping Mobian polar bear in the seat opposite from him and Nack.

"Fine, fine, sorry," the duck sighed, "But who would be sick enough to take in _that _thing?"

Nack gently applied the brakes, slowing the vehicle and cargo to a halt, before resting his chin on a fist. Bean uncharacteristically waited patiently for a response.

"Hmm…" Nack voiced after a few moments, "Hey, remember a few months back when I got hurt?"

"Uh… yeah?" Bean replied, raising a brow out of uncertainty, "When we ran into those Eggman robots? And after barely escaping, taking you to that dinky clinic?"

"Yeah, that's it," Nack replied, "Where was that again?"

"Umm… I think it was called Blue Moon Village, or something," Bean replied, glancing out of the corner of his eye trying to jog his memory before chuckling, "We didn't even pay that schmuck."

"Well…" Nack smirked, "maybe it's time we paid for the treatment."

Bean stopped laughing and turned to Nack in disbelief.

"What!? Pay him!?" he exclaimed, taking great care to not wake up their partner, "Why would you-"

"With some… _interest_," Nack added, referring to their questionable cargo.

"Huh…" Bean replied, "That's… different. But will it work?"

"Only one way to find out, Bean," Nack smirked as he revved the engine and made their way out of Spagonia.

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

**[ Teaching Feeling – Ivory Fiber ] **( JorgeMx ) **(Loop)**

"Uhhh…" Siris moaned as awoke.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes before peering around his dark bedroom.

"What a horrible dream," he muttered before reaching over to his alarm clock on the nightstand, "What time is it?"

He brought the clock closer to him and glanced at the time.

"5:30, huh?" he sighed, "Well, I'm already up. And unless someone has emergency, the clinic won't be open today."

He placed clock back on the nightstand after turning the alarm off so it wouldn't go of in a couple of hours and pulled the sheets off his body as he sat up on the edge. As he got to his feet, Siris scratched the back of his ears and stretched his arms out. He heard patter coming from outside and glanced out his window.

"It wasn't supposed to rain until another couple days… oh, well," he shrugged.

He rolled his shoulders a couple times as he made entered that bathroom and turned on the lights. Siris squinted his eyes and blinked a few times as they adjusted to the sudden change in light and closed the door behind him. The shower was turned on and Siris instantly yelped when he entered.

"Jeez, that's cold!" he exclaimed.

A few minutes later, the shower was turned off and Siris reentered his bedroom, drying off that last of the water from his quills.

"Wait a minute, did I just take a shower with my gloves and shoes on?"

He glanced at his hands and feet, finding the answer instantly.

"Weird," he scoffed and carried the towel out of the bedroom.

Siris' house wasn't very big; having only the master bedroom, a guest room, a couple of bathrooms, a laundry room, and a joined living room and open kitchen. Passing through the living room, Siris balled up the towel and chucked it into the open doorway to the laundry room, landing directly in the hamper.

"He shoots, he scores," he smirked to himself, "Alright… what to do about breakfast…"

Siris opened the fridge door and poked his head inside.

"Hmmm… should probably go to the grocery store later today…"

He turned his head towards the window and noticed the rain had gotten heavier.

"Or I can wait until tomorrow."

After digging around for a few seconds, Siris pulled out a carton of eggs, some shredded cheese, and butter, kicking the door shut before he carried the ingredients to the kitchen counter.

"Scrambled eggs with do," Siris groaned as he stretched his neck from side to side, "Ummmm… Need a bowl, right."

He reached up to one of the cabinets above and pulled the door open, unaware of a jade colored creature lying in wait inside.

"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"WHOA!" Siris exclaimed, jumping back in surprise, "_Spirit_!"

The Jade Wisp laughed as he floated out of the cabinet and flew around Siris.

"You are such a child," Siris smiled, shaking his head as he put his hands on his hips, "How long were you waiting in there?"

The alien responded with a few warbles and gestures with two of his tentacles.

"Not long, huh?" Siris asked, crossing his arms and arching his brow, "Is that why I didn't see you at all last night?"

Spirit's jack-o-lantern smile grew slightly bigger.

"I thought so."

As Siris grabbed a small bowl from the cabinet and opened the carton of eggs, Spirit started making more warbles.

"No, you cannot eat this," Siris said sternly, but playfully, "You know you can't eat raw eggs."

***Warbles***

"Just because you have the ability to turn intangible _and _you look like a ghost, that doesn't mean you _are _a ghost, Spirit!" Siris exclaimed as he started cracking open the eggs and dumping their contents in the bowl.

The Jade Wisp crossed a couple of his tentacles and shortened his smile.

***Warble***

"That's because I _gave you _that name, smartass," Siris laughed as he reached up into another cabinet and grabbed the salt and pepper shakers, "And in all honestly, it's _much _easier to call you Spirit than whatever the hell your real name is."

The Jade Wisp uncrossed his tentacles and floated next to the hedgehog's head.

***Warble***

"Spirit, I know how to speak your language, but I have no clue how to translate your name," Siris relied as he began to whisk the eggs, "Not even Tails' translator was any help in trying to pronounce it."

***Warble***

"Not my problem, chief," Siris replied, "You will be called Spirit, whether you like it or not."

Spirit glanced over to the bowl of whisked eggs and smiled mischievously.

"Don't you even think about turning the bowl intangible," Siris warned, "I _will _force you to clean it up by not feeding you for a month. Now stop pestering me; breakfast will be ready in about 10 minutes."

Spirit floated around Siris a couple of times before leaving him be and flew over to the couch in the living room. He settled down on the furniture and yawned.

"How many eggs do you want?" Siris asked over his shoulder.

***Warble***

"I am not making you four eggs," said Siris, "Last time I did that, you didn't even eat-"

***Warbles***

"Fine, fine, if you insist," Siris conceited as he cracked open a couple more eggs.

As Siris added the salt and pepper and whisked the eggs some more, a peaceful silence filled the house, with only the sound of the whisk and the patter of rainfall heard.

***Warbles***

"Huh?" Siris asked as he placed a large pan on the hot stove and added some butter, "What was that?"

***Warbles***

"I… ***Sigh* **Yeah, I did," Siris replied, "Nightmare was about the two years spent as Ro-butt-nik's guinea pig."

Spirit lifted his body up a little and turned towards Siris.

"It's been a long time since I've dreamt about those days," he sighed, "Just glad those days are long behind us."

***Warble***

"What the hell do you mean 'it wasn't all bad'!?" Siris snapped as he poured the eggs into the frying pan.

***Slow Warbles***

"… Alright, you've got me there," Siris agreed, slightly tilting his head, "To be fair, we were lucky to escape when we did."

Spirit nodded in agreement.

"Still feels like it was only yesterday when we met," said Siris.

**( Music Fades )**

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

_**8 Years Ago…**_

**[ Custom Themes: Robotropolis ] **( Purple Jester ) **( Loop )**

Water droplets fell from the ceiling and landed in the small puddle that was in the middle of a dark, cold prison cell. Nearby, Siris was sitting at a rusty metal table, working on designs for more efficient circuits for Robotnik's creations.

"I swear, this nightmare will never end," he muttered, wiping his forehead with the

It had been two years since he was captured, and he was a wreck. His lower arms, lower legs, a couple of quills, upper torso, and right side of his face were wrapped in gauze, which he also used to keep his gloves and shoes held together. A metal electronic collar with red and yellow buttons and lights was around his neck. There were a few visible scars on his body where fur was missing or just beginning to grow back. He was considerably thinner than he was before, but he still managed to grow a bit.

"But…" Siris smirked to himself, "I doubt anyone would notice me _'accidentally' _labelling this component as 2 ohms instead of 2 _kilo_ohms*****. Heh. Ro-butt-nik will be scratching his head for days with this one."

Down the hall, the doors opened and Siris' ears twitched as he heard the approaching Swat-Bots' footsteps.

"And not a moment too soon," he muttered as he collected the circuit designs he had finished.

A moment later, two Swat-Bots stood before his cell and opened the door.

"You know the drill, prisoner," said the first, "Do you have the diagrams?"

"Yeah, yeah," Siris replied as he got up and held them out to the Swat-Bot.

"You will be coming with us as well," the second robot announced as the first took the papers.

"… I'm sorry, what?" Siris asked, "Did I sleep for two days straight or something? I was just injected _yesterday_! Doesn't Robotnik remember what happened _last time_!?"

"Enough!" the first exclaimed, "You're coming with us. _Now_."

"What?" Siris asked as he was grabbed by the wrist, "Really? Now?"

"Don't struggle, prisoner," the Swat-Bot ordered, "Dr. Robotnik has something special planned for you."

"Oh, great," Siris muttered as he was escorted out of the cell and down the hall.

Suddenly, the ground began to tremor, causing the hedgehog to stop.

"What was that?"

"Not your concern, prisoner," the Swat-Bot told him, "Now move!"

Siris sighed and did as he was told, but couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was happening.

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

A few minutes later, Siris and the Swat-Bots had arrived at the Research and Development Facility, where Julian's latest Swat-Bot designs and improvements were made. However, during Siris' time as a lab rat, Robotnik discovered that the young hedgehog had a knack for electronics. Not much, but with some 'education', Siris learned enough to make more efficient circuits for Julian. To make sure he would do as he was supposed to, the tyrant had a tracker placed on him, which also doubled as a taser; which was the device placed around Siris' neck.

"Are we there yet?" Siris asked, bored.

"Silence, prisoner!" the Swat-Bot behind him ordered, shoving him forward.

"Hmph," Siris scoffed, "Scrap metal."

As they turned at an intersection down the hall, Siris' unblocked eye glanced into one of the open rooms and saw something he'd never seen before. In the middle of the room was a large display table that held a large, cylindrical glass container with a metal seal at the bottom and a large metal latch on top. Inside was the most bizarre creature Siris had ever seen. It appeared to be a floating jade green witch's hat with three tiny tentacles under it.

"What the heck is that?" Siris asked himself.

"Keep moving!" the Swat-Bot ordered again, giving him another shove.

Siris glanced down to the ground and sighed.

"Even after all I've done from the inside to help, I could never prevent Julian from capturing anyone and everyone… Sorry, Cat."

The Swat-Bot in front stopped in front of a door at the end of the corridor and entered a code in the terminal beside it.

"Keep an eye on the prisoner," it ordered the robot behind Siris, "Dr. Robotnik won't be happy if _another _incident occurs with this one."

"Roger."

Before the Swat-Bot could enter the room, everything began to violently shake.

"Whoooaaa!" Siris exclaimed, "W-w-whaa-a-ats haa-a-a-pp-eee-n-n-niiinn-n-ng!?"

As fast as it began, the shaking stopped and the alarms go off as red lights flooded the halls.

"_Attention, all Swat-Bot units!" _Robotnik announced, _"The Doomsday Machine is now in full operation!"_

"The Doomsday Machine?" Siris pondered, "Then that means… Sonic!"

"_The hedgehog has also managed to escape my Roboticizer and is now running through the facility! FIND HIM!"_

"Phew…" Siris sighed, "He escaped."

"What should we do?" the Swat-Bot watching Siris asked, "We can't just leave the prisoner unattended."

"Keep him close to us and follow close," the first ordered as they entered the room, "If Priority One Hedgehog shows up, we can't allow the prisoner to escape. He's too valuable to Dr. Robotnik."

Siris glanced around the room, noting the large moving machinery parts and huge spinning cogs just behind some guardrails. There was also scrap metal everywhere and a few Robians**** **a fair distance away, working as mindless slaves.

"It's not like the prisoner can do anything," the second Swat-Bot replied, "With all the experiments done to him, he's barely even got the strength to run."

Taking a chance, Siris spun around kicked the Swat-Bot's right knee in, causing the hydraulics to suddenly choke and lock the robot's leg in place.

"Never assume anything," the hedgehog smirked as he rushed the other Swat-Bot from behind.

"Prisoner's escaping!" the damaged Swat-Bot exclaimed.

As the commanding Swat-Bot turned around, Siris arched his path and slammed his body into the side of the Swat-Bot, shoving it over the guardrail and between two large cogs. The gears were momentarily jammed before crushing the robot between the teeth, turning it into scrap metal. The remaining Swat-Bot pulled out its pulse blaster rifle and aimed it at Siris. Just as it was about to fire, the hedgehog flung out his right hand and a wire launched from his wrist, grabbing ahold of the robot's head.

"What is this!?" the Swat-Bot exclaimed.

Siris spun his body around and yanked the wire as hard as he could, tearing the Swat-Bot's head clean off.

***CLANG***

"Hmph," Siris smirked, "Guess my new wire grapple works after all."

The wire retracted back to the launcher on Siris' right wrist and the hedgehog leaned against his knees, gasping for air.

"I didn't think it'd actually work. Lucky these idiots didn't frisk me before taking me out of my cell," he chuckled, "Better get out of here before all hell breaks loose."

He stood back up and took a step forward before stopping dead in his tracks.

"Crap," he muttered and grabbed the collar around his neck, "If I leave now, Robotnik will know where I am. He'd just let me escape and lead him back to the Freedom Fighters. Assuming he doesn't already know, or they haven't moved to a safer location."

Siris crossed his arms and began to ponder what to do.

"Hmmm… Oh, I know!"

Siris walked over to a large pile of scrap and began digging through it, throwing anything not of use behind him.

"A-ha!" he exclaimed, "A microwave transformer!"

He pulled the device out of the pile and analyzed it.

"Perfect, the primary winding is still intact," Siris sighed in relief, "Looks like the iron core ring broke, but shouldn't be an issue. This resistor might work, but… where am I going to find a high voltage power source?"

He looked back over to the beheaded robot for a moment before he approached it.

"There must be something inside this junk heap I can use," he muttered as he stuck his hand inside the neck area and felt around, "No, sure, Ro-butt-nik, I'll solve _all _the issues with what little of the full Swat-Bot designs you've shown me… Hm? What's this?"

Siris' hand grabbed ahold of something strange. When he pulled his hand free, he realized it was a long, thin cylindrical object that appeared to be a large, blue-glowing fuse.

"Is this… a power core?"

Siris quickly grabbed some nearby high-gauged wire and connected it to one of the terminals of device. He then flicked the other end of the wire to the opposite terminal, causing a couple of sparks to fly.

"It is!" Siris exclaimed, "Judging from the sparks, this thing must be at least 25 volts. ***Sigh* **If that's the case, then this inductor won't last for long… I've only got one shot at this."

He connected the wire to the other components and carefully held the iron core near the collar.

"No turning back now."

Siris shut his eyes as he lowered the end of the wire to the terminal of the power core. As soon as contact was made, the current shot through the circuit and Siris' makeshift magnet began to pull on the collar.

"Please work, please work…" he groaned.

***Zzzzrt***

Something shorted in the tracking device around his neck and it suddenly unlocked, falling off his neck and landing at his feet. The winding around the core was glowing and the resistance was beginning to smoke.

"It worked…" Siris stated in disbelief, dropping the magnet to the ground.

The ground shook again for a few moments.

"Can't waste any more time," Siris growled, "I need to hurry out of here before I get caught again. And fast!"

He slowly backed out of the room before turning around and jogging down the hall.

"_Attention!" _Robotnik announced on the speaker, _"The hedgehog has been sighted in Sector 4-D! Get that hedgehog! GET HIM!"_

Siris skidded to a stop when he saw a group of Tech-Bots and Swat-Bots leaving a room at the end of the hall, rushing away from him and around the corner. He slowly made his way towards the room they came from and peered inside.

"Hey, it's that weird thing again."

Certain that the room was now empty, Siris approached the strange green creature held captive in the container.

"The prisoner!"

"Huh!?" Siris exclaimed as he spun around and saw a Tech-Bot staring at him.

"Alert! Alert!" the robot exclaimed, "Prisoner-"

***Shink***

Siris launched his wire passed the Tech-Bot and grappled the large network cabinet behind it. He then pulled it down, crushing the robot under it.

***SCRUNCH***

"Too close," Siris sighed as the wire retracted back to the launcher.

He turned his attention back to the strange creature, which appeared to be turned towards him. Siris couldn't be sure, since it had no eyes.

"I don't know who or what you are…" said Siris, "But no living creature should suffer the cruelty of that madman."

He reached out and grabbed the latch that held the lid in place. With some effort, Siris was able to unhook the latch and pull the lid off the container. As soon as it was removed, the creature shot out of its prison and flew around the room, making strange garbling noises.

"Uh, are you okay?" Siris asked, raising a brow.

The creature flew to Siris and made more of those strange noises.

"What?" Siris asked, confused, "I don't know what you're saying."

The creature made more noises and began making strange gestures with its short tentacles.

"Sorry, I really don't understand," Siris sighed, "Can you understand me? Nod your head if you understand me."

The creature motionlessly floated before Siris for a moment before shaking its head up and down.

"Okay, good," said Siris, "I don't know about you, but this place isn't exactly all sunshine and rainbows. Want to get out of here?"

The creature nodded in response.

"Well, why don't you stick with me," Siris suggested, "Better than getting lost around here."

A creepy, jack-o-lantern smile appeared on the creature's face and it nodded in agreement.

"Yeesh," Siris commented, "Creepy… Hmmm… I think I'll call you 'Spirit'."

The creature tilted its head in similar fashion of a dog in confusion.

"I don't know if you have a name, but I don't understand you and I have to call you something. How's that sound?"

The creature shrugged its three tentacles.

"Then Spirit it shall be," Siris smiled, "I'm Siris."

Suddenly, the facility began to shake again, this time more violent than before.

"And _now _would be a _very _good time to leave!" Siris exclaimed, "Come on!"

Siris and Spirit turned toward the doorway and rushed out as the alarms and red lights continued going off.

**( Music Fades )**

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

**Stage 02: Doomsday Halls**

**[ Track 06 – Sonic Satam (Unused) ] **( Sailor & Sonic Soundtrack ) **( Loop )**

"This is the way I was brought here," Siris explained as he ran down the hall, Spirit staying close to his side, "There should be an elevator up ahead that will take us to the ground level."

The went around a curved corridor and started running up a flight of stairs.

"_Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" _an automated system announced, _"Organic lifeforms detected in Research and Development Sector 1. Repeat, organic lifeforms detected in Sector 1!"_

"Looks like they don't know _who _the organic lifeforms are," said Siris, "Best if we stay clear of any Swat-butts."

As soon as he ran around a corner, Siris stopped in his tracks, causing Spirit to bump into him as he flew around the same corner. He peaked over Siris' shoulder and saw a squad of Swat-Bots, armed with pulse rifles, exiting the elevator.

"There!" one of the robots exclaimed, "The prisoners are free."

"Yeah, what else is new!?" Siris exclaimed as he and Spirit spun around and legged it away.

"After them!" the squad leader ordered, and the Swat-Bots gave chase.

Spirit slowly took Siris' lead as they ran away from the Swat-bots.

***Warbles***

Siris glanced over to the strange creature and followed it around a bend. Spirit pointed ahead and Siris saw the open room just down the corridor.

"Alright…" Siris panted, "Let's hide in there."

The hedgehog followed the floating creature into the room and slammed the door closed behind them. He quickly searched the room for anything to barricade the doorway, but there was nothing of use.

"Shoot," he muttered, "Now what?"

***Warble***

"Hm?"

Spirit tapped Siris on the shoulder and pointed towards the ceiling. Siris kept his eye on Spirit as the creature flew up towards a ventilation grate, pointing at it and making more noises.

"You might be able to fit through that grate, but I can't," said Siris, "Hmm… maybe I can use my wire grapple to pull it off?"

"Search every room!" a Swat-Bot ordered outside, causing Siris to gasp, "They must be here somewhere. There's no way out."

Siris glanced back up to the vent and launched his wire up towards the grate. With little effort, he was able to pull the metal cover off and expose the vents. Spirit floated inside and disappeared for a moment before poking his head out, waiting for Siris.

"Alright, let's see where this leads," he said as he launched his grapple again and pulled himself up into the vent, "It's a bit of a tight fit, but I should be able to crawl my way around."

Suddenly, the door opened and Siris reached out and quickly closed the grate.

"Searching area," a Swat-Bot announced as it entered the room.

"Come on," Siris whispered to Spirit, "Follow me and stay quiet."

***Warble***

Now on his hands and knees, Siris began crawling quietly through the ventilation shaft, with Spirit floating close behind him. As he carefully made his way over some larger grates, the two could overhear the Swat-Bots reporting below.

"Have you found the targets?" the squad leader asked.

"Negative, all rooms are clear," another Swat-Bot reported.

"Well, they must be here somewhere," a robot behind the second noted.

"_Attention, all units!" _Robotnik announced over the speakers, _"I'm initiating a full lockdown of the Doomsday Machine. No one is allowed in or out."_

"That's not good," Siris whispered as he continued crawling through the shafts, "If Doomsday is put into full lockdown, the Freedom Fighters won't stand a chance in destroying the core."

A few feet in front of him, Siris saw another grate that appeared to be slightly warped. He grabbed ahold of it and carefully pushed it open before poking his head out and peering around. With no Swat-Bots in sight, he slipped out of the vents and landed in the middle of an intersection of corridors.

"Now that I'm free…" Siris pondered, "I could use this as an opportunity to make my way to the core."

***Warble***

"Hm?" Siris muttered as he turned to Spirit, "Oh, I'm just talking out loud. I know I said we'd get out of here, but how does sabotaging Robotnik's plans sound?"

A huge grin grew on the creature's face and it rubbed two of its tentacles together mischievously.

"Alright," Siris smirked, "If we're gonna screw with Ro-butt-nik, we'll need to find an access terminal. A security station would be the best place to find one, since the entire security system is connected to every sector in Robotropolis."

Suddenly, a door opened down the hall and two Swat-Bots began making their way towards Siris and Spirit.

"Shoot!" Siris hissed as he grabbed Spirit by the tentacle and pulled him behind some metal crates, "Stay quiet."

The two carefully peaked over one of the crates and watched the Swat-Bots march through the halls. Behind them was a giant Surveillance Orb, nearly twice the size as the Swat-Bots. As the robots passed by the crates, Siris grabbed his side and winced.

"Ah!" Siris gasped unintentionally as he sat down and leaned against the crate.

"What was that?" one of the Swat-Bots asked as the two escorts stopped and looked around.

Spirit quickly hid behind the crates and turned to Siris.

***Warbles***

"Mmm," Siris groaned, "Sorry, Spirit… I think I nearly pulled a stitch."

As Siris gasped for air, Spirit briefly peaked over the crates and saw the Swat-Bots slowly approaching them. He ducked back down and turned to Siris.

"Well… guess that's the end of me," Siris sighed, "You get out of here, Spirit. At least one of us should get out of here."

The creature shook his head and his body began to glow.

"Hey… what are you doing?" Siris asked.

***GHOST!***

Spirit flew into Siris and the hedgehog disappeared.

"Something's behind those crates," a Swat-Bot announced, "Searching area."

"Oh, great," Siris muttered, "Now we're _both _screwed."

As he glanced down, Siris realized he couldn't see his arms or legs. Or any part of him for that matter.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, the Swat-Bot's head poked into sight and Siris shut his mouth, eye wide. The robot glanced area the small space behind the crates, appearing to be ignorant of Siris' presence.

"Anything?" the nearby Swat-Bot asked.

"Negative," the robot replied as it stood up and returned to the Surveillance Orb, "No organic life detected."

"Huh?" Siris muttered to himself, "It didn't see me?"

He stood up and peeked over other the crates once more. As soon as he put his hands on the crate, they phased right through it, causing the hedgehog to lose balance and fall flat on his face.

"OOF!" he exclaimed.

"There it is again!" the Swat-Bot exclaimed, whipping back around towards the crates.

Siris quickly picked himself up and looked up, only to see nothing but darkness. He got back to his feet and, as he stood up, was instantly able to see the robots and corridors again. Raising a brow, Siris looked down and saw half his body inside the crate.

"Scanning area," the Swat-Bot announced as it began searching the crates again.

A few seconds passed, but nothing came up.

"Nothing," the Swat-Bot reported and returned to the other Swat-Bot and Surveillance Orb, "Must have been faulty lines. I'll have the Tech-Bots do a maintenance check after we escort the Surveillance Orb to the security station."

"Understood," the other robot replied, "Continuing escort."

The two Swat-Bots marched passed the Surveillance Orb before the giant spherical robot spun around and followed its escorts; all unaware of the bandaged hedgehog clinging to the back of the giant robot and his new friend clinging to his arm.

"You can turn me invisible _and _intangible!?" Siris whispered to Spirit, "This _whole _time!?"

The jade green creature weakly lifted his head towards Siris and nodded.

"You look drained," Siris noted, "Sorry for snapping. Must take a lot out of you, huh?"

Spirit's body sulked but he kept holding on to Siris' arm.

"Don't worry," Siris whispered, "You rest. I'll get us out of here. _After _I do some business in the security station."

As the hitchhikers continued getting carried toward their destination, Siris couldn't help but wonder.

"What was that back there?" he pondered out loud, "I've never seen power like that before… What kind of creature are you?"

Siris began to shudder as a strange sensation coursed through his body.

"Ugh… There it goes again…"

***Warble***

"I'm fine," Siris sighed, "Just a strange feeling. It's gone now."

The two went silent as the Surveillance Orb brought them closer to the security room.

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

A couple minutes later, the Swat-Bots and the Surveillance Orb arrived in a room that had a huge monitor and a few access terminals around the room. Two other Swat-Bots were already in the room, monitoring security cameras in search for Sonic. As the arriving robots approached them, the two Swat-Bots turned to face them.

"You late," one of them pointed out.

"Disturbance in Sector 9-A," one of the newly arrived Swat-Bots reported, "We'll send a Tech-Bot to do maintenance."

"Hey, before you do that," said a voice behind the robot, "can you guys get around to helping me with my password? Been waiting two years."

The robots spun around and saw Siris standing on top of the Surveillance Orb, holding his launched wire in his hand that was attached to the wall behind him.

"How did you get in here!?" a Swat-Bot exclaimed, "Capture him!"

"Heh," Siris smirked as he pulled himself to the wall.

As soon as he landed, he launched himself off the wall and back towards the Surveillance Orb. He spun his body around midair and, using his forward momentum, landed back on the Surveillance Orb and kicking down towards the Swat-Bots.

***WHAM***

The giant robot crashed into the Swat-Bots and crushed them with its immense weight. Siris backflipped in the air and landed on both feet. He instantly grabbed at his side again and groaned.

"Okay, yeah…" he winced, "Shouldn't have been so flashy."

Suddenly, something lunged at Siris and pinned him to the ground.

"I've got you now, prisoner!" the Swat-Bot exclaimed as it held Siris down on his back, "Dr. Robotnik won't be happy when he learns of your escape!"

"Ah, get off me, you bag of bolts!" Siris shouted as he tried to pry the robot off him with his feet.

"You're not going anywhere," said the robot.

"Spirit! A little help!?"

The creature dropped down from the ceiling above and began flying around the Swat-Bot's head while making silly faces at it.

"Oh, not you too!?" the Swat-Bot exclaimed, "I'll deal with you in just a moment."

Spirit turned around and began shaking the equivalent of a butt at the robot's face.

"Buzz off, pest!" the Swat-Bot exclaimed and, keeping one hand around Siris' neck, swatted Spirit away with a backhand.

***WHAP***

The creature flew across the room and crashed into weapons wall rack before slumping to the ground with the rack and weapons falling on top of him.

"Spirit!" Siris exclaimed before he glared at the Swat-Bot, "You're gonna pay for that, Swat-Butt!"

Siris pulled back his right hand and balled it into a fist as a strange yellow aura began to glow around it.

"What is this!?" the Swat-Bot exclaimed.

"Haaah!" Siris shouted as he threw his fist into the Swat-Bot's head.

***VRRRRRRRRRRR***

Siris' eye went wide as he saw a giant yellow drill make a hole inside the robot's head instead of his expected fist. Sparks flew from the robot as the sharp cone drilled into its circuits. Startled, Siris pulled his arm back and kicked the Swat-Bot off him. The robot crumbled to the ground and went still as Siris sat up and glanced as the glowing yellow drill in his hand.

"What the… How did I…?"

As fast as it appeared, the drill vanished and a few feet of wire in a conical spiral shape retracted back into his wrist-mounted launcher. Siris stared at his hand for a few moments, shaking, before Spirit floated over and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Huh!?" he exclaimed, "Spirit… did you see…?"

The creature nodded its head.

"What the heck was that all about?"

Spirit shrugged as he made a warbled sound.

"Well… looks like that's all of them," Siris sighed as he wiped his forehead, "Are you okay? That looked like it hurt."

Spirit gave Siris a smile and nodded.

"Okay, good," said Siris before he turned his attention to the access terminals, "Let's see what we can do here."

He got back up to his feet and walked over to a terminal and sat down in the seat.

"Perfect! This one's still logged in," Siris chuckled as he began typing on the keyboard, "Now to see what we can do about Doomsday."

A moment later, the facility began to shake violently again. Spirit glanced around nervously before turning to Siris.

"Come on… there's go to be something," Siris grumbled, "No… no… no-Aha! Bingo!"

Spirit turned to the screen and saw what appeared to be blueprints of the Doomsday Machine. The underground tunnels were highlighted in a sky-blue color, each highlighted again with a red ring.

"See where it's red?" Siris asked, "Those are the emergency shutters that are to be closed in case a flood or a cave-in occurs. _However_…"

The hedgehog paused and began typing on the keyboard again.

"… if someone were to gain control access to these shutters, they could override them and force them to close. And if the Doomsday Pods are still being launched."

With a push of the enter key with his finger, Siris watched as the red highlights turned yellow. A moment later, more quakes occurred, but much more violent than ever and they came in periods of a few seconds each. Above Siris and Spirit, a couple of small pipes began to hiss violently before the pressure was too much and they broke, releasing jets of hot steam. Red lights began to go off as Siris got to his feet and glanced around.

"Heh," he smirked, "Try recovering from this one, Ro-butt-nik."

**( Music Fades )**

**Stage Complete**

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

"Come on!" said Siris, "Let's get out of here."

"_Patrol sigma, report!"_

"Huh?"

Siris and Spirit barely moved two feet before Robotnik's voice erupted from the speakers.

"_Sigma! Answer me!"_

"He sounds pretty peeved," Siris smirked to Spirit, "Wanna try giving him an aneurysm?"

Spirit gave him a creepy grin and nodded.

"_Why is no one responding!?" _Robotnik exclaimed, _"I swear, if you don't answer this instant, I will __**personally **__throw you into the grinder!"_

Siris pushed a blinking white button and Robotnik's face appeared on screen.

"_Well, it's about time you answered," _said the tyrant, _"What is- oh, no."_

"How's it hangin', Ro-butt-nik?" Siris smiled as he waved to the camera, "Yeah, your little security team won't be able to talk for a while. Actually, ever again. Long story; forgot my password, didn't get around to it over the past two years…"

"_How…?" _Robotnik asked in disbelief, _"HOW DID YOU ESCAPE!?"_

"Psychic powers," Siris quipped, "You should really look into getting better people in tech support."

"_You think you can escape?" _Robotnik asked semi-calmly, _"You have no __**idea **__what will happen when I get my hands on you."_

"Whatever," Siris yawned, "Oh, by the way, he's here also."

Spirit floated into camera view and waved, causing the dictator to growl in anger.

"_That does it, hedgehog!" _he exclaimed, _"Forget about capturing you, I'm ordering all remaining Swat-Bot units to kill you on sight!"_

"_B-b-b-but, sir…" _Snively interrupted offscreen, _"There's only one unit within the vicinity of the prisoners."_

"_What!?" _Robotnik exclaimed, _"Let me see… Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho… __***Gasp* **__Oh, this will do nicely."_

Siris raised a brow and crossed his arms.

"Mind telling me what's gotten you so worked up?" he asked.

"_Let's just say… a certain unit of mine has some __**unfinished**__ business to attend to now," _Robotnik smiled, _"I can't wait to see what I can do to your corpse."_

"Yeah… that'll require me to be dead and you to live," Siris smirked, "Neither of which will be happening by the end of this war."

Suddenly, all of Robotropolis began to shake violently.

"_What in the world was that!?" _Robotnik exclaimed, _"Snively!?"_

"_S-s-sir! The Deep Power Stone! Its energy readings have gone off the charts!"_

"Deep Power Stone?" Siris asked to himself, "What is that?" *******

"_What!?" _Robotnik shouted as he slammed his fist on his chair, _"Where is it, Snively!? Tell me!"_

"_It's coming from… your personal quarters…"_

Julian's eyes began to glow a burning red as he seethed through his teeth.

"_HEDGEHOOOOOG!" _he screamed, _"Find him! Find that hedgehog! I want him brought to me! NOW!"_

"Sonic…?"

Robotnik then turned back to the camera.

"_As for you…" _Robotnik said darkly, _"You'll make a nice blanket for me to sleep with. Or perhaps a rug. But know this: you will-"_

***Boop***

"Aw, too bad," Siris smiled as he took his finger off the button, "Looks like we lost connection, Spirit."

The hedgehog waited for his friend to respond, but he didn't.

"Spirit?" Siris asked as he glanced around the room, "Where'd you- Spirit!"

He watched as Spirit was reeled away in a mechanical hand that retracted back to its owner; a Commander Swat-Bot.

"Targets one of two, apprehended," the robot reported as it pulled out a giant glass case with a metal lid and shoved Spirit inside, "Energy syphon cell securely locked."

"Hey!" Siris shouted as he rushed the robot, "Let him go!"

***BAM***

"WAAHH!" Siris exclaimed as he was launched into the air and landed flat on his back a few feet away, "Uggghhh…"

The Commander Swat-Bot lowered the arm it used to punch Siris away.

"Resistance is futile," it said, "Surrender now or be terminated."

Siris turned onto his stomach and slowly rose to his feet.

"I recognize you," he growled, "Of all the robots… heh, of course it had to be _you_."

"Surrender, prisoner!" the Swat-Bot ordered again.

"Funny… that you think I'd surrender to anyone," Siris continued as he slowly turned around, revealing his uncovered eye; no longer a pumpkin color, but now glowing a golden-orange, "After what you did to my father and my friends…"

He wiped the blood from the side of his mouth and glared at the robot.

"You'll be the first to go."

Getting in a fighting stance, Siris prepared to engage the Swat-Bot Commander.

"So, you dare to defy Dr. Robotnik?" the Swat-Bot Commander asked as its chest armor split down the middle and opened the chest compartment, "Then you will meet your end, prisoner!"

The robot placed the syphon cell inside its body and its chest closed, trapping Spirit inside. A surge of electricity routed through the Swat-Bot's systems and the robot activated its wrist cannons.

**Boss: Swat-Bot Commander**

**[ Robotnik's Theme (SatAM) – Genesis Boss Remix ] **( Sound Of A Shadow ) **( (0:44 – 2:28 Optional) & Loop)**

A barrage of red lasers shot towards Siris as he quickly turned around and vaulted over the control terminal and hid behind it.

"Where'd he get all that energy from!?" Siris exclaimed.

***SCRUNCH***

"Whoa!" Siris exclaimed as he leapt away from the Commander Swat-Bot.

The robot lifted its fists from the crushed terminal and pointed its weapons at the hedgehog as he scurried to his feet.

"Charging hyper beam cannons," it announced as two large white orbs of energy began to grow at the ends of the wrist cannons.

"Not good," Siris muttered before he backed into the wall, "_Definitely _not good."

"Fire!"

A huge beam of white energy shot towards Siris and the hedgehog quickly launched his wire grapple at the ceiling. At the last second, Siris pulled himself up into the air and grabbed onto the pipes.

"Phew… that was a close one," said Siris as he glanced down at the robot, "Looks like it didn't see me get away."

The Swat-Bot Commander continued firing its weapon for a couple more seconds before it ceased fire. A small hatch opened on each of the robot's elbow joints and steam jetted out from small exhaust pipes.

"It looks like it's weapons can overheat," Siris noted to himself, "Now's my chance to attack!"

He retracted his wire and dropped down towards the robot, intending to stomp on its head. But just as he was about to make contact, the Swat-Bot Commander reached up with incredible speed and grabbed Siris' leg before pulling him down and grabbing him by the throat with the other hand.

"URK!"

"You should have headed my warning, prisoner," said the Swat-Bot, "Now you will die."

Suddenly, faint waves of energy pulsated from the Swat-Bot; traveling down its arm and into Siris as he glared at the robot.

"Not today," he growled as he pulled back his right arm.

It began to glow yellow once more and his wire slowly came out of the launcher, forming the same spiraling shape as before.

***VRRRRRRRR***

"Eat this!" Siris shouted as he drilled into the Swat-Bot's chest.

The sudden attack caught the robot off guard long enough for Siris to do some noticeable damage before he was thrown across the room. Siris quickly spun through the air and landed on his feet as the drill vanished, but he grabbed his side as pain shot through him.

"Ah… damn it…" he groaned as he moved his hand away and saw faint traces of blood appear, "I tore a frickin' stitch."

He turned his attention back to the Swat-Bot that was preparing to fire on him again.

"I've got to deal with thing fast, before I tear another stitch."

"So, you have managed to harness the energy," the Swat-Bot Commander stated before firing more lasers at Siris, "It makes no difference. You are nothing but a lab rat."

"Oh, yeah?" Siris snapped back as he ran around the edge of the room, "And _you're _nothing but nuts and bolts. At least I get to experience life."

"Hold still, prisoner!"

"Hmm…" Siris pondered as he continued running away from the attacks, "That strange feeling… I felt it again when that drill thing appeared in my hand. Could it be from Spirit? Could that also be where it's getting its power from?"

"_Attention!" _Robotnik shouted over the speakers, _"The hedgehog has stolen the Deep Power Stone! Find him __**NOW**__!"_

The Swat-Bot stopped firing lasers and began to charge its wrist cannons again.

"Charging hyper beam cannons," the Swat-Bot Commander announced, "Fire!"

Another white energy beam blasted to where Siris was heading, but the hedgehog spun around and launched his wire grapple in the opposite direction as he skidded on the floor. It attached to a metal beam along the wall and ceiling corner and Siris launched himself into the air before retracting the wire and firing directly at the Swat-Bot Commander's head. As he pulled himself towards the robot, Siris turned his body and kicked the Swat-Bot's face, ending its attack and stammering it for a moment as he landed a few feet behind it. He then spun around and rushed the robot, but the robot was faster.

***WUMP***

"GAAHHH!" Siris exclaimed as he was kneed in the stomach and fell to his knees.

The facility began to shake again as the Swat-Bot Commander grabbed him by the neck. The exhaust pipes on the robot released jets of steam and slammed him into the ground. Siris felt that another stitch had torn in his side and more blood appeared under his bandages as the shaking stopped. He looked up at the robot and gasped as a metal fist was prepared to be thrown. Within the robot, Spirit released another wave of energy, transferring it through the robot's arm and into Siris. The hedgehog held his arm out in front of him to shield himself from the attack and the yellow drill turned. With quick thinking, Siris deflected the punch and aimed the tip of the drill at the robot's chest.

***VRRRRRRRR***

Pieces of the Swat-Bot Commander's armor began to break off as Siris drilled towards its chest cavity. The robot stood up and raised its fists over its head and slammed them down towards Siris. Luckily, he quickly rolled aside, narrowly dodging the blow, and jumped back a few feet to distance himself from his foe. The Swat-Bot turned toward Siris as its shoulder plates rose a couple of inches and slid to the side. Two small rocket launchers appeared from under the plates and aimed at Siris.

"Micro-missile launchers, activated," the Swat-Bot Commander announced, "Fire!"

A barrage of micro-missiles launched by the dozens at Siris.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed as he turned and ran around the room again.

Most of the missiles hit the wall right behind him as he ran, but a few would have hit him if he hadn't ducked, slid, or hopped around to avoid them. Siris was so focused on the missiles behind him that he didn't see the three coming from the front until it was too late.

***BOOM BOOM BOOM***

"Guuuuhhhhh!" Siris screamed as he was blasted away and slammed into the wall, "Uuuhhhh…"

His body slid down the wall and he landed on his stomach. He remained motionless for a moment before he tried pulling himself up. Metal footsteps slowly made their way towards him. Siris glanced up as the Swat-Bot Commander stood over him, aiming its charged wrist cannons at his face.

"Hyper beam cannons… ready," said the robot.

Siris got up on one knee and glared at the Swat-Bot, breathing heavily.

"Not giving up that easily," the hedgehog growled as a twinkle flashed across his eye.

"You think you stand a chance against me? Or Dr. Robotnik?" the robot asked, amused.

"You don't get it, do you?" Siris chuckled, "I'm a Freedom Fighter."

His right hand began to glow yellow as his wire grapple spiraled around it.

"Since you and your metal pals killed everyone from my home, I've got nothing left to fight for, except for everyone else's freedom," Siris continued, "So go ahead! Give me your best shot!"

"Hyper beam cannon… FIRE!" the Swat-Bot Commander shouted and unleashed an energy beam that was four times larger than before.

"RAAAAAHHH!" Siris shouted as a yellow drill appeared around his hand and he pushed it into the beam.

The beam splintered into smaller beams off the tip of the drill, spinning around Siris and melting the steel beams in the ceiling as the tips of his quills began to glow yellow.

"This is the end of you, prisoner!" the Swat-Bot Commander exclaimed, "You will be joining the rest of your pathetic villagers!"

"Someday…" Siris growled, "But not today!"

His drill began spinning faster and the yellow aura grew brighter before Siris drilled through the energy beam and slammed into the Swat-Bot Commander's chest. Metal debris flew everywhere as the robot's body crumbled to the ground. The energy syphon cell was launched into the air, with Spirit screaming in fear. As his drill vanished, Siris swiped his arm out and launched the wire grapple at the capsule and pulled it into his hands. The Swat-Bot Commander's head rolled off its body and stopped at Siris' feet.

"That was for my father, you piece of crap," Siris muttered as he crushed it under his tattered shoe.

**Swat-Bot Commander Defeated**

**( Music Fades )**

As smoke from the destroyed, sparking terminals continued to fill the room, Siris glanced down to Spirit and held him up to eye level.

"You okay, bud?" Siris asked.

Spirit weakly nodded.

"Alright, hang on."

The hedgehog walked over to a partially fallen steel beam and slammed the syphon cell against it, cracking it open and freeing the jade creature. Spirit hardly had the power to float and slowly descended.

"Whoa, hang in there!" Siris exclaimed as held the exhausted creature in his hands, "Wow, was all that energy from the robot's attacks… was that from you?"

Spirit nodded.

"Jeez… yeah, you take a break," Siris told him as he let him piggyback on him, "A _long _break-Ah!"

His hands went to his side, were felt his bandages soaked in blood. He reached behind and pulled out a roll of gauze, using his teeth to tear off a long stip. Siris quickly folded it into a small makeshift rag and, as quickly as possible, slid it under the bandages over his wound.

"Mmmmm!" he groaned, "Yeah, that hurts."

Suddenly the facility began to shake violently again, causing multiple pipes to burst and release water, oil, and steam.

"We need to get out of here!" Siris exclaimed before he ran towards the exit.

He took a quick glance over his shoulder; just in time to see the room collapse on top of the remains of the Swat-Bot Commander. Siris turned away and ran down the halls.

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

_**Present Day…**_

Siris smiled to himself as he wrote in his patient medical journal while seated at the kitchen table, remembering the day he and Spirit has escaped Robotropolis. He was lost in thought when Spirit tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hm!?" Siris exclaimed as he turned to face Spirit.

He glanced down at his friend's tentacles and saw a patient file.

"Oh, thanks, Spirit," said Siris, "Sorry, I was lost in the clouds, ya know?"

***Warble***

"Just thinking of the day we met."

Spirit gave Siris the equivalent of a side-eye and crossed his arms.

"What?" Siris asked, raising a brow.

The Wisp pointed at the clock on the wall.

"Wait, what? It's already 1:30!?" Siris exclaimed, "When did that happen!?"

He got up from his seat and went to the window near the front door, pushing the curtains aside to see outside.

"And it's raining even _harder_!?"

Siris glanced away and blinked a few times as he processed this.

"… Well, that would explain why I'm getting hungry," he shrugged, "But if I eat now, I won't be eating dinner tonight. Guess we'll be having an early dinner tonight, Spirit!"

Spirit thrusted his tentacles into the air and cheered, flying around the room in celebration.

"That doesn't mean you're getting _more_ food, you glutton!" Siris shouted as he sat back down at the table, "You're getting the same amount you always get."

***Warble***

"Wai- wha-_what!?_" Siris asked in disbelief, "Did you just say 'cruel and unusual punishment'?"

Spirit crossed his tentacles and nodded.

"What universe do you live in?" Siris asked with a raised brow.

***Knock-Knock-Knock***

Before the Wisp could respond, a soft knocking came from the front door. The two turned their heads in that direction, with Siris appearing more perplexed.

"That's odd," he said, "Clinic's closed today… and emergency cases usually begin with loud, erratic banging."

Spirit asked Siris in his alien language as the hedgehog got up and approached the door.

"I doubt it's any friends of mine… except maybe Nephy," he replied over his shoulder, "Aside from her, they would give me some notice before hand. I wonder who it is?"

Siris opened the door and was immediate conflicted with who it was.

"Afternoon, doctor," Nack smiled from behind the rain heavily dripping off his hat, "Judging from that look on your face, you-"

"Fang the Sniper," Siris growled, "Here to finally pay your fees?"

"Hey, check it out, boys!" Nack laughed over his shoulder, "Looks like the doc _does _remember us!"

"Oh, great," Siris muttered, "You brought your posse along as well."

Standing along the dirt road, Bean the Dynamite was leaning against the _Marvelous Queen_, smirking at the hedgehog, while Bark the Polar Bear stood menacingly next to the back of the cargo container.

"That's right," said Nack, "_You _were the one that saved me when I had received those, uh… injuries."

"You mean the ones you got from those Eggpawns after they tried to take over the town?" Siris asked half-heartedly, "The same injuries you _still _haven't paid the treatment for?"

"Yeah… that's all true…" Nack confirmed, slightly irritated before shaking it off, "However, if I'm being honest-"

Siris rolled his eyes at that statement.

"-we didn't have any rings on us at the time, so we couldn't pay for the medical treatment at the time," Nack explained, "We were just passing through town and I figured it'd only be right if we paid while we could. And some interest with it."

The weasel reached behind and pulled out a pouch, holding it out to Siris. He glanced back and forth at the pouch and its current owner, hesitant to take it for a moment before he accepted it. His eyes widened as soon as he looked inside.

"This… this is much more than what you owe me, Fang," Siris stated.

"Like I said," Nack replied, "Interest. And, please, it's Nack."

Siris gave him a hard side-eye before tossing the pouch over his shoulder and it landed on the kitchen table.

"You and your crew are still wanted criminals, Fang," said Siris as he crossed his arms, "You wouldn't come here just because you wouldn't have a clear conscious unless you paid the bill. What's the catch?"

A smile slowly crept on Nack's face as he slowly nodded.

"Alright, you got me," he admitted, "As I'm sure you're aware, a wealthy person died in an accident recently. Charles Hemberg."

"Of the Hemberg Estate?" Siris asked as he glanced to the side and looked at the huge manor at the top of the hills, barely noticeable through the heavy rain.

"The very same," Nack continued, "He didn't have any close relatives, so people claiming to be government officials, relatives, and friends came and took as many of his left behind assets as they could. Luckily for us, we have a few connections around, so we were able to get some of the leftovers, but were also entrusted with some… _troublesome items_."

"Why do I get the feeling I'm going to regret not slamming the door on your face and not talk to you?" Siris asked.

"One of these items I would like to give to you. If you wouldn't mind, could we come in for a moment?" Nack asked, "I don't know if you've noticed, but it's raining pretty hard and it's kinda cold."

"Really? I haven't noticed," Siris deadpanned, "***Sigh* **Fine… you can come in for a couple of minutes."

"Perfect," Nack smirked before he glanced over his shoulder, "Bring it inside!"

"Heh," Bean scoffed as he walked over towards Bark, who was opening the back of the cargo container.

Siris turned around and walked over to the table, where Spirit was peering inside the ring pouch. Nack followed him inside, rudely not wiping his shoes on the mat, leaving mud and water on the floors. Siris glanced over his shoulder and shook his head in annoyance.

"Nice place you got, doc," Nack noted before he noticed Spirit, "What's the freak?"

Spirit bared his sharp teeth and growled at the weasel, causing him to gulp.

"He's not a freak, he's an alien," Siris explained, "He's a jade Wisp."

"Riiiight," said Nack as he stood a few feet behind Siris, "Those weird things with the powers."

"That's one way to describe them, sure," Siris replied, rolling his eyes, "I'll bring a couple of towels for you to dry yourselves with."

"That won't be necessary, doc."

Siris ignored him and went over to the laundry room to grab some used towels. Nack glanced over his shoulder as he crossed his arms and tapped his foot.

"What's taking those two so long?" he grumbled to himself, "Hey! Hurry up and bring it inside!"

A couple seconds later, Bean and Bark pulled the object in question into the house as Siris returned with a couple of used dark green towels.

"You know, the floormat is there for a reason," Siris told them, annoyed as he stopped in front of the table, "So what is it that you want to give me?"

As soon as Nack took a step aside, Siris' eyes widened. Held by Bean and Bark, by the arms, was a female Mobian hedgehog. Her fur was a dirty silver with peach, her dull eyes were chatelle-colored, her hands were covered with filthy white gloves, and the only other clothing was a faded brown sundress. As if that wasn't enough, the poor girl was also covered in horrible scars; the left side of her neck and up to her left cheek, across her right shoulder and along her upper right arm, her lower left arm and down and around her wrist, and a scar line straight down her right eye, although her eye appeared uninjured.

"As you can see, this is one of those troublesome items I mentioned before," Nack explained, snapping Siris' attention back to him, "We are but humble merchants now, and our motto is buy and sell _anything_."

Siris' eyes briefly flickered a golden-orange color as he narrowed his eyes.

"Normally, we don't go into trafficking," Bean joined in, "But money is money."

"Exactly," said Nack, "When it comes to selling valuable items, like paintings and sculptures, it's not too difficult. But _people_? That's a bit of a challenge. Especially for some brat like this one. And if things aren't done correctly, there might be some… _losses_."

"Mmm…" Siris growled quietly.

"However, even we have some compassion," Nack continued as he began pacing back and forth, looking around the house, "I want to avoid possible issues, but there was no place for us to leave the girl. We were doing some business in town and we figured why not ask you. Aside from that weird thing, you seem to be living by yourself. It might not be of any business of mine, but don't you think having a friend around would be a nice change in your life?"

Siris' mouth slightly opened, showing his gritted teeth.

"I know it's a bit sudden, but…" Nack said before he stopped and faced Siris, "Would you take this one in?"

Spirit, who was frozen in place the moment he saw the young hedgehog, turned to Siris, wondering what he was going to do. Siris' eyes wandered back to the poor girl in question as he mentally argued with himself as to what to do. Although the girl's face was lacking any expressions, her eyes pleaded for help. Siris took a deep breath through his nose and gave his answer without taking his eyes off hers.

"Yes."

**( Music Fades )**

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

**{Notes}**

*** Circuit terminology for those of you who aren't electrically inclined.**

**** Robians are Roboticized Mobians, just for clarification.**

***** Siris is unaware of the existence of the Deep Power Stones, even after Robotnik had retrieved one.**

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

**This chapter took longer than it should have to write, but I kept getting distracted with other stuff. Hopefully the next chapter will be out in the next two or three weeks.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!**

**Like, follow, and please review! Until next time!**

**~ThePhantomHedgehog**


	3. Chapter 3: Living with a Slave

**Welcome back,**

**Hey, remember when I said this would come out two or three weeks after I released Chapter 2? Yeah… that didn't happen.**

**Sorry for being gone for so long. The whole COV-19 fiasco has made it hell for my schoolwork. Especially since I'm taking only core classes… Anyways, I'm back. So, let's get into it, shall we?**

**Ver. 1.0.0 (6/5/20)**

**Standard Disclaimer, I only own my OC and certain character designs. All characters and media belong to their rightful owners. Sonic the Hedgehog belongs to SEGA. Teaching Feeling belongs to Ray-Kbys. Okay… let's continue the story.**

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

⋅**ʚ****ɞ**⋅ **Mending Hearts **⋅**ʚ****ɞ**⋅

**A Sonic Adventure 3: Dark Revivals Prequel**

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

⋅**ʚ****ɞ**⋅ **Chapter 3: ****Living with a Slave **⋅**ʚ****ɞ**⋅

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

"Yes."

Nack, Bean, and Bark blinked a couple of times before they stared at Siris in disbelief. Nack briefly glanced at the other two for a second before he turned back to Siris.

"Uh, could you repeat that?" he asked.

"Yes," Siris repeated calmly, "I take her."

**[ Teaching Feeling – Ivory Fiber ] **( JorgeMx ) **(Loop)**

"Hmm…" Nack smirked as he rubbed his chin, "Is that so? That'll help us out, as well as the girl."

The weasel turned to his partners and gestured to them. They nodded and gave the young Mobian a soft shove towards Siris. She didn't even react to the action and quickly regained her footing and stood straight before Siris.

"In case it wasn't obvious, this girl is a slave," Nack explained, "She has no relatives, so you don't have to worry about that. You can have her help you around the house, if she's even capable of doing such menial tasks. If you want to know more about her, you can ask her."

Siris wasn't paying much attention to him, more focused on the slightly shorter hedgehog in front of him. He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle smile.

"And, if you have such urges, you can treat her like your toy," Nack shrugged as he turned around and made his way towards the door.

Siris' smile instantly vanished and his irises burned a golden-orange. Bean and Bark were following Nack and they were almost at the door.

"One moment, you three," Siris said to them calmly.

The Hooligans stopped in their tracks and turned around.

"Something you want to ask?" Bean asked, raising a brow.

"Nah," Siris smirked as he stepped around the girl and slowly approached them, "I just wanted to give you my thanks for giving me this _wonderful _gift."

Although he appeared passive, there was something about Siris' tone that gave the Hooligans a chill down their spines.

"Is… is that so?" Nack asked, slightly hesitant.

"Yup."

***WHAM* *BAM* *POW***

One by one, the Hooligans were sent flying out the door and skidded across the muddy road, stopping right next to the _Marvelous Queen_.

"Ugh…" Nack groaned as he slowly picked himself up, "Where did _that _come from?"

"Hey!" Siris shouted from the entrance, getting their attention, "You better get out of my sight right now, before I call the cops and have you three thrown behind bars!"

The hedgehog slammed the door shut as Bark and Bean picked themselves up from the mud.

"Jeez, what a jerk," Bean muttered as he wiped some mud away, "Well… at least that brat's no longer our problem."

"True…" Nack muttered as he hopped onto the hoverbike.

"Something wrong, boss?" Bean asked as he and Bark climbed into their seats.

"Nothin'," he replied, "Don't worry about it."

He revved the engine and the Hooligans made their way towards Blue Moon Village. Siris watched from the window next to the front door and waited until the Hooligans and their vehicle vanished behind the rain. He shook his head in disgust as he let the magenta curtain fall back into place and turned back around towards his new guest. He slightly jumped when he found her standing directly in front of him.

"Oh, uh, hi," Siris greeted her, chuckling nervously, "You, uh, surprised me for a moment there. I didn't even hear you walk."

There was a moment of silence between Siris, the girl, and Spirit, who had been staring in slack-jawed disbelief the whole time. Siris took the chance to take in more of her appearance. Her quills were quite long, even for a Mobian, reaching all the way down to her waist. A few shorter quills covered the sides of her face. He glanced down and realized that not only was she not wearing any shoes or socks, but her upper right and lower left leg were webbed with more scars and her left foot had scars around it as well.

"H-hello," the girl said, causing Siris' eyes to meet hers again, "It's nice to meet you. My name is… S… Sylvie. Thank you for accepting me."

"Sylvie, huh?" Siris smiled, "That's a cute name. ***Sigh* **Is it true that you were a slave?"

Sylvie gave a timid nod.

"I cannot do heavy labor, but I can do simple chores if you ask me," she explained, "However… my previous master enjoyed hearing my screams the most."

"Huh?" Siris muttered, raising a brow and scratching behind one of his ears, "Screams?"

"Please…" Sylvie asked softly as she closed her eyes, "treat me gently…"

She began to shiver just as Siris realized that she was still soaking wet and cold from the rain.

"Oh… I appear to have made a mess coming inside," Sylvie said nervously.

Siris glanced around the floor, looking at all the mud tracked inside.

"Ah, don't worry about that, Sylvie," he told her, "I'll clean it up. Would you like to take a warm shower?"

"Mmm…"

Sylvie had a worried look on her face, as though she thought Siris had some ulterior motive with his offer.

"It's okay," said Siris, "I won't hurt you. And I'll give you privacy."

"… Very well, Master," she replied.

"Uh, don't call me that," Siris told her.

Before he could explain why, Sylvie spoke first.

"I am a slave and you are my owner," she explained, "I don't have any right to call you anything else."

Siris opened his mouth to protest, but he decided against it since he didn't want to make her feel any more uncomfortable.

"If that makes you feel better…" he sighed, "I suppose I can allow that."

Sylvie nodded her head.

"For now, I'll show you where the bathroom is."

Siris made his way down the hall and Sylvie followed close by. Spirit poked his head around the corner and watched the two disappear into Siris' bedroom.

"It's just through here," Siris told the timid hedgehog, "This is the only bathroom in the house and, clearly, someone didn't plan of the owner of the house having guests."

He stopped just before the door that led to the bathroom and glanced over his shoulder. Sylvie didn't have any clear expression of either understanding or confusion of what he was talking about.

"The bathroom is connected only by the two bedrooms here in the house," Siris explained, just in case.

Sylvie just stared at Siris and blinked.

"Hmm…" Siris muttered, "Anyways…"

He opened the door and led Sylvie inside the bathroom. Inside was a large bathtub next to a shower and a countertop sink across from those.

"Is this… where I will be punished, Master?" Sylvie asked timidly.

"Punished?" Siris asked as he turned to face her, "I don't- I'm not gonna do anything to you, Sylvie. You're just taking a shower, that's all."

Although it was brief, Siris could have sworn he saw Sylvie favoring her right leg as she walked.

"Or you could take a bath," he offered, "I'll let you decide."

"Master is… letting me decide?"

Sylvie nervously rubbed her hands together as she glanced at the tub and shower.

"… Would a bath be okay?" she asked.

"Sure," Siris replied, "Let me grab a couple of towels for you real quick."

He walked around Sylvie and passed through his bedroom before heading back into the hall. He went over to the closet and pulled out a couple of towels for Sylvie to use. When he closed the closet door, Spirit seamlessly appeared from behind the door, slightly startling Siris.

"Uh, hi?" said Siris.

Spirit just stared at Siris, at a loss for words.

"What?" Siris asked.

***Warbles***

"I don't know," Siris shrugged, "I guess… we have a guest staying with us for now."

***Warbles***

"Well, I couldn't just refuse her," Siris replied as he made his way back to his bedroom, "Look, I don't know what's going to happen, but for now, let's take things one at a time."

Spirit watched Siris vanish into his room before shaking his head and flying back over to the couch.

"Here you go, Sylvie," said Siris as he placed a towel on the ground in front of the tub and the other on a towel rack that was attached to the glass wall of the shower.

He glanced over and noticed that she hadn't moved from the spot he left her.

"How warm do you want the water?" he asked as he turned the faucets.

"I'll bathe in any water you prefer, Master," she replied.

Siris sighed as he waved his hand through the water to test the temperature.

"This should do," he said after a few waves and plugged the tub, "If you want, I can wash your clothes while you bathe."

Sylvie turned to face Siris, showing a worried expression on her face.

"Don't worry, you'll have your privacy," he explained, "I'll wait outside the door. You just need to pass the clothes through the door before you get in the tub."

"… Understood," she replied.

Once the tub was adequately full, Siris turned the water off and stood up.

"Alright, it's ready," he told Sylvie as he reached inside the shower and grabbed a bottle of shampoo, "You can use this to get clean. Careful not to get any in your eyes; this stuff can burn pretty bad."

Sylvie took the shampoo and looked at the bottle for a moment.

"I see…" she said.

"Need anything else?" Siris asked.

"I think this will do," Sylvie replied.

"Okay," said Siris, "I'll be right outside the door."

He left the bathroom and closed the door just enough for Sylvie to have privacy and pass her clothes through. Siris was a bit surprised to see the dress being held through the doorway after just a few seconds.

"Here's the dress," Sylvie said from within the bathroom as Siris took it, "I will be taking my… bath now…"

Siris waited until he heard Sylvie enter the tub before closing the door.

"Is the water too hot or cold for you?" he asked.

"It's fine," Sylvie replied.

"Hmm…" Siris muttered as he glanced at the dress made his way down the hall, "Is this dress really the only thing she was wearing? Didn't Hemberg have any-"

He stopped dead in his tracks and glared into space.

"_Hemberg_," he growled, "You're so lucky you're dead."

***Warbles***

Siris glanced over and saw Spirit peaking over the couch.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied, "This is just quite a bit to take in, you know?"

***Warble***

"Well, yeah, Sylvie, but I meant everything about her," Siris sighed, "She barely looks older than 14 or 15 years old… I'm getting distracted, I'm gonna give this 'dress' a quick wash and dry. It's so ragged, I'm surprised it hasn't come apart yet. I'll take her out tomorrow and buy her some new clothes."

***Warbles***

"Huh?"

Spirit pointed towards the ground, where all the mud and water droplets were still smeared.

"Yeah, I should deal with _that _first."

Siris walked over to the kitchen sink and left the dress beside the wash basin as he grabbed the bottle of soap and a small towel normally used to wash dishes.

"To be honest…" he smiled to himself, "The floors needed a good wash, regardless."

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

A few minutes later, Siris had finished cleaning the floor from the front door up to the entirety of the hall.

"I'll do the bathroom and bedroom after Sylvie is done with her bath," he said as he dropped the dirty rag into the hamper in the laundry room, "I better clean the dress before Sylvie gets out of the tub."

He made his way over to the sink with the container of detergent he grabbed from the laundry room. He turned the water on, put a few drops of detergent on the dress and carefully cleaned as much of the dirt and grime away with his hands as he could without destroying the garment.

"When was the last time this dress was cleaned?" Siris wondered out loud, "It's as though this stuff is caked into the dress and won't come out."

A few seconds more of washing, Siris sighed and rinsed off the detergent.

"It looks a bit better, but not by much…" he noted, "Now to dry it. Dryer would take too long…"

With another sigh, Siris walked out of the kitchen and made his way down the hall once more. He entered his bedroom and closed the door behind him as his eyes darted toward his personal desk.

"I cannot believe I'm doing this," Siris chuckled to himself as he approached it.

He knelt down next to the desk drawer that was protected by an electronic lock and inputted the code using the keypad. The small light changed from red to green and he pulled the drawer open. Light illuminated from the drawer, tinting Siris with multiple different colors.

"This is such overkill," he chuckled as he reached inside, "but I'm not gonna let Sylvie sit in dirty bathwater for half an hour."

Meanwhile, Sylvie was wrapping herself up in a towel as she stepped out of the tub. Water dripped off the ends of her quills as she stood nervously in the center of the bathroom. She glanced at the mirror over the sink and looked at the condition her body was in and sighed.

***Knock knock***

"Sylvie?"

The hedgehog turned her attention to the door.

"Y-yes, Master?"

"Are you out of the bath yet?"

"Yes."

"Hope I didn't keep you waiting," said Siris as the door was opened a little, "Here."

His hand came into view with her dress offered towards her.

"I did my best to clean your dress, but this will have to do," he said apologetically.

"Th… thank you very much," Sylvie replied as she took the dress.

"When you're finished, just bring the towels to me," Siris told her, "I'll be in the kitchen."

"Yes, Master."

Siris closed the door to give her more privacy and left his room.

"Jeez," he muttered, pinching the bridge between his nose and eyes, "What the heck am I doing?"

***Warble***

"Besides helping a poor girl, Spirit," Siris replied, rolling his eyes at the Wisp that was laying on the couch.

He sat back down in his seat just as his bedroom door opened. His eyes turned to the hallway entrance and watched as Sylvie walked out and approached him, with the towels in hand. Her fur was now a clean silver color, while her scars unfortunately became slightly more apparent and much of the dirt and grime from her gloves were gone as well. The fact that she bathed with gloves on made Siris briefly ponder how that even works. Once again, he noticed the slight limp from her left leg, but it wasn't as obvious as before.

"Feel better?" he asked.

"Eh?" Sylvie replied, "Umm… Well… I feel cleaner."

She glanced down at the towels and handed them to Siris.

"I cleaned up the mess in the bathroom and your bedroom, Master."

"Aw, you didn't need to do that," Siris smiled, "I would have done that myself."

"Oh…"

"How's your leg?" he asked as he dropped the towels off in the laundry room.

"My leg?" Sylvie asked before replying quickly, "It's fine. There's nothing wrong."

"You've been favoring your right leg," Siris pointed out as he came walking back to the kitchen table, "Does your left leg hurt?"

Sylvie stood next to Siris, nervously glancing around.

"It hurts a lot less before…" she answered timidly.

"Before what?"

"The… bath…"

Siris raised a brow.

"Before the bath…" he repeated to himself, "Does it hurt when you touch it?"

"A little," Sylvie replied, "It also feels a little swollen."

"Swelling… must be a bad bruise then," said Siris, "Usually ones that bad come from trau-"

He stopped midsentence, remembering the condition Sylvie was in. She slightly cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"Oh, it's nothing," Siris told her, "If it starts hurting, please tell me. I have ways of treating it to make it go away faster."

With a blank expression on her face, Sylvie nodded. As Siris turned his attention back to his medical journal, he could see Sylvie sitting on her knees on the ground next to him. He thought of saying something, but decided not to say anything, fearing it would make her feel more uncomfortable than she already is.

**( Music Fades )**

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

**[ Gothic Music - Ravenville ] **( Fantasy & World Music by the Fiechters ) **(Loop)**

Making their way through the marketplace of Blue Moon Village, the Hooligans looked for a place to set up shop for the day to make some profit.

"Jeez, there are so many vendors here," Nack grumbled, "We'll never find a spot large enough for us to do our business."

"Do we have to do business _here_?" Bean asked, slightly nervous, "The people here seem a bit… different."

"Hmph," Bark grunted, crossing his arms and not caring much about the environment around them.

"What, you turning into a chicken now?" Nack asked, "I've done business here plenty of times before. The gothic architecture? You get used to it. And the people are all just people."

Bean glanced around at the building structures and the few people that appeared dressed in gothic attire. Overhead, a few ravens took flight and cawed.

"Gives me the creeps, if you ask me."

"Look, what's there to worry about?" Nack asked, "Believe it or not, this town was one of few that never fell to Eggman's rule when he captured Sonic a while back."

"Really?" Bean asked.

Even Bark was a bit surprised and turned his attention to the boss.

"Yup," Nack continued, "They say some guy with a bunch of strange weapons would come in and destroy all of Eggman's robots before vanishing."

"What, like a ghost?" Bean asked.

"A ghost!? Ha!" Nack laughed, "As if."

"Then… who was it?"

"Dunno," Nack shrugged, "All I'm sayin' is that you have nothing to fear from these people. Besides, that guy vanished after Eggman was defeated. But now that I think about it... the doc sure threw us out with ease..."

Bark reached over and tapped Nack on the shoulder.

"What?" he asked.

Bark pointed towards a large vacant spot among the vendors.

"Well, I'll be," Nack smiled, "Good eye, Bark."

"Speaking of which, boss," said Bean, "What exactly are we selling off?"

"We've got a few paintings and some high class furniture to start off with," Nack replied as he stopped the _Marvelous Queen_ and hopped out, "Things will be much easier now that we got rid of the most troublesome of items."

"You mean the girl?" Bean asked, "I'm still shocked the doc actually took her."

"Yeah… me too…" Nack replied.

Nearby, a woman with blonde hair and a large black hat glanced over her shoulder, overhearing the Hooligans' conversation.

"Never thought the doctor would have such… needs," Bean smirked.

"No, that's not it," said Nack, "I think he saw something in her. Something… personal."

"Like what?" Bean asked as he opened the cargo container.

"Who knows?" Nack shrugged, "At this point, it's not our problem. It's his."

His eyes quickly glanced over to the Mobian duck.

"I swear, if you don't set up a tent before taking the cargo out, I'm gonna take one of your bombs…"

"Way ahead of you, boss!" Bean exclaimed as he came into view with the folded tent in his arms.

"Good."

Nearby, the woman pondered the conversation she overheard as she continued toward her destination.

"Hmm… interesting…" she smiled.

**( Music Fades )**

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

Back at Siris' place, Siris was finishing up the last few paragraphs of his medical journal. A few hours had passed since Sylvie's arrival and besides the few words spoken before, no conversation had taken place and Sylvie had been sitting next to Siris, staring into space. Siris paused for a moment and glanced over at Sylvie, wondering how she came to be in this situation. It didn't take long before her eyes met his.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Oh, uh… sorry," Siris replied, "I didn't mean to stare."

"Is it my scars?" Sylvie asked glancing down at the ground, "It's obvious that you have seen them."

"Sorry," Siris apologized again, "Do they… hurt?"

"These scars?" Sylvie asked, looking back into Siris' eyes, "They are from long ago, so they don't hurt much anymore."

Siris slightly leaned over to get a better look at the scars.

"Well, they don't appear to be raw, so bandaging won't be necessary," he told her.

He noticed her hands rubbing together and saw that she was feeling uncomfortable.

"Sorry," he told her, "I am a doctor, so I was curious if there was something I could do about those scars."

"… Is there?" Sylvie asked.

Siris sighed and scratched his ear as he sat back up.

"Sorry," he said, "There isn't."

"I figured…" said Sylvie.

Siris continued writing in his journal and an awkward silence fell upon them.

"Do you… want to talk?" Siris asked after a couple of minutes.

"Conversation?" Sylvie asked, "I'm not very good at it…"

From her tone, Siris could tell she wasn't in the mood to talk.

"That's okay," he told her as he gave her a soft pat on the head.

"… Um, what are you doing?" she asked, confused, "Are you… _patting _my head?"

"Do you want me to stop?" Siris asked.

"No, that's fine, but…"

Aside from the brief confusion, Sylvie wasn't showing any particular reaction. Siris wasn't sure if she was feeling more discomfort or not, so he pulled his hand away as he glanced at the clock.

"Wow, it's going to be getting late pretty soon," he said, closing his journal and moving it to the side, "Why don't you sit in the seat over there while I get dinner ready."

"Dinner…" Sylvie whispered, "Is it fine for me to eat even though I haven't screamed?"

Siris silently stared at Sylvie.

"Oh, jeez…" he muttered quietly before clearing his throat, "Sylvie, that's not how things work around here… Or anywhere else. Dinner is a normal meal of the day, not some kind of reward."

"Is that so?" Sylvie asked, "… Master is very compassionate. Thank you very much."

As she sat down in her seat, Siris was in the kitchen, pulling out a couple of pots and a pan and placing them on the stove. Sylvie remained silent and stared at the table. As he prepared to make dinner, Siris was thinking about what Sylvie had just told him.

***Warble***

"Hm?"

Sylvie turned her head and saw Spirit floating beside her.

"Um… hello?" she said to him.

***Warbles***

Sylvie raised a brow, not sure what the Wisp was doing or saying.

"He said 'hello'," Siris told her over his shoulder, "He's a Wisp; an alien not from this world. They can understand us, but can only speak in their own language."

"I see…" said Sylvie.

***Warbles***

Sylvie glanced back at Spirit, again confused.

"Spirit, I think you're making her uncomfortable," Siris told him, "Could you leave our guest alone?"

The Wisp shrugged and floated over to the coach.

"Tell me you are not going back to sleep!" Siris exclaimed as soon as he saw the Jade Wisp laying back down.

***Warbles***

"You're going out late tonight, huh?" Siris asked, "Fine… I'll tell you when dinner's ready."

Sylvie continued to stare at the table, but her eyes continued to dart back to Siris as he grabbed stuff from the fridge and cabinets. After a while, she just watched Siris as he cooked. The aroma of the food tickled her nose, but she remained undeterred.

"Alright, Spirit!" Siris called out, "Dinner will be ready in just a minute!"

Spirit's body shot straight up into the air and he shot towards his seat, which was between the two hedgehogs' seats. A huge smile appeared on his face, causing a chill to run down Sylvie's spine. Spirit noticed her discomfort and closed his mouth.

"Alright, here you go," said Siris as he placed two plates in front of Sylvie and Spirit, "Carbonara with Parmesan cheese, butter, peas, and bacon bits."

He placed some silverware next to Sylvie's plate before he went back into the kitchen and brought two more plates over.

"Here's some salad with dressing and cherry tomatoes," he told them, "Oh, I almost forgot!"

Siris quickly hurried back to the kitchen and put some oven mitts on. He opened the oven and pulled out something that was covered in aluminum foil.

"Ah, perfect," he smiled as he opened the foil and placed it on a plate.

He then grabbed a small plate with butter and a butter knife and brought them to the table. Sylvie realized that inside the foil were heated bread rolls. Siris then returned to the kitchen and grabbed a couple of glasses of water.

"Here we go," said Siris as he placed the glasses in front of Sylvie and his seat, "Just need to grab my plate."

While Siris went to make his plate, Spirit stared at his food and chuckled in delight.

***CHOMP***

***GULP***

Spirit let out a large belch after finishing his meal in one bite.

"_Spirit_," Siris said sternly as he sat down with his plate.

The Wisp gave Siris a mischievous smirk and shrugged. The hedgehog shook his head in disbelief and was about to begin eating when he noticed Sylvie hadn't even touched her food yet.

"Sylvie?" he asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Is there a guest coming tonight?" she asked.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Siris asked.

"It might be best if I hid somewhere out of sight."

Siris gave her a perplexed look for a moment before glancing over to Spirit. It slowly dawned on him that Sylvie didn't think the food was for her.

"Sylvie…" he said as he turned back to her, "That food is for you."

Sylvie looked at the food that had been placed before her and stared at it for a moment.

"… This is… my meal?" she asked timidly, "My previous master would only give me bread and water…"

Siris was just about to grab a roll when he heard that and his hand stopped.

"Wait, what?" he asked.

"Am I… allowed to eat this?" Sylvie asked.

Siris opened his mouth to ask about her nutritional intake when she was with Hemberg but decided to wait until another time.

"Yes," he smiled, "you can eat the food that's on the table. And you don't need to ask for permission to eat."

Sylvie looked at the food in front of her and stared at it for a moment before responding.

"Then… Th-thank you for the m-meal."

She hesitantly reached for the fork and began to eat slowly and awkwardly. As she ate, Siris watched her react, but she remained stiff and emotionless, showing neither enjoyment nor distaste.

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

"Thank you for the meal," Sylvie told Siris after they finished their meal.

"No problem," Siris smiled as he wiped his mouth with a napkin.

He glanced up and noticed that Sylvie appeared troubled.

"Um… Master?" she asked as she looked at Siris, "This is…. Ummm…."

She was nervous to say anything.

"It's okay, Sylvie," said Siris, "You can tell me anything."

"… Well… this is the first time… I've eaten such a delicious meal," she said anxiously.

"… Oh," Siris replied.

"It is also the first time I've eaten until I was full," she continued, "Thank you."

"Hm," Siris smiled, "You are more than welcome, Sylvie."

He glanced over at the clock and saw the it was getting late.

"I guess now would be time for us to get some sleep," he announced as he got up and picked up all the empty plates.

"Master?" Sylvie asked, "Where… should I sleep?"

"Hmm…" Siris thought for a moment as he put the dishes in the sink, "I've got the perfect place."

Sylvie became a little worried.

"Follow me," Siris told her and they went down the hall.

Across from Siris bedroom was another room, which was also connected to the bathroom, but Sylvie had yet to see what was inside.

"The clinic is separate from the house," Siris explained as he opened the door, "This is an extra room and bed in case there is an emergency case that requires my close observations and immediate care."

He stepped inside and Sylvie followed. She looked around the room which had a wardrobe, a bed, couple of nightstands, and a desk.

"This will be your room for now," said Siris.

"Is it fine for me to use this room?" Sylvie asked, "And… this bed? I'm fine with sleeping on the floor."

She turned around and saw Siris giving her a sad smile.

"… If that's the case, I will gladly accept this room," she told him.

"I hope you like it," Siris smiled as he gave her a couple of pats on the head.

He turned to leave the room but stopped when Sylvie spoke up.

"Um, Master?" she asked, "I… What will happen to me form now on? Will I… Will I have painful and terrible things done to me?"

Siris glanced over his shoulder and looked at her. She seemed to think there was an ulterior motive behind his kindness. He turned around and walked up to her.

"I don't do things like that," he assured her, giving her another pat on the head, "Bad things will not happen to you again."

"R-Really?" she asked as Siris stopped patting, "I don't mind having painful things done to me if it pleases you, Master. My previous master really enjoyed my screams of pain… I will do anything I can do to help. I'm fine with… just a little for meals. So please… have mercy."

She didn't appear to completely trust Siris.

"Like I said, I don't do those kinds of things," Siris told her again.

"Ah… I-I'm very sorry," Sylvie apologized anxiously, "Um… Good night, Master."

"Good night, Sylvie."

Siris gave her one more smile before he turned and left the room, closing the door behind him. Sylvie took one last look around her room.

"Should I sleep in the bed?" she wondered out loud.

Her eyes caught sight of a journal and pen that was on the desk. Out of curiosity, she slowly walked over to the desk and opened the journal. She raised a brow when she realized that the pages were blank.

"Stay safe, Spirit," Siris told his friend as he entered his room.

Spirit chuckled before turning intangible and flew through the wall.

"Hmm…" Siris groaned as he made his way towards his bed.

He plopped himself on it and stared at the ceiling.

"Water and bread…?" he wondered aloud, "If that's the case… Sylvie might be older than I thought…"

He moaned in irritation as rubbed his eyes; not because of Sylvie, but because of the way she was treated until she came to his place.

"Don't know what I'm going to do about Sylvie," he sighed, "but for now, I'll make her living conditions the best I can make them. If she's got the mentality of a slave, it'll take some time for her to break that habit. ***Yawn* **I'm exhausted, I'll think about this some more tomorrow…"

With that, his eyes slowly drooped until he fell into darkness.

**( Music Fades )**

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

"Come on, Siris!" ####### exclaimed, "Race you to the creek!"

"Hey!" the young hedgehog cried out, "No fair, #######! You got a head start!"

"Hee hee," ####### giggled, "I'm gonna win~!"

"Oh, are you?"

***WUMP***

"OOF! Hey!"

"Hey, what? _You're _the one that ran into me," Siris smirked, "It's not my fault I'm faster than you."

"That's because you're bigger than me," ####### pouted.

"Aw, don't be like that," said Siris, "Besides, we beat the others here, didn't we?"

"You could have let me win…"

"Sorry, can't play favorites," Siris smirked, "Even if you are my best friend…"

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

"Uhhh…" Siris groaned as he slowly woke up and sat up in his bed, "Ahh… just a dream…"

He wiped his eyes and realized there were tears in them.

"Weird…" he muttered, rubbing his face, "My memories are still scrambled and yet I still get emotional…"

He looked out the window and saw the it was early dawn and the sun was just rising in the horizon.

"WHAAAAAHHH!"

***K-sssshhhhh***

"Huh!?" Siris exclaimed, "What was that!?"

The events of the day before came back to him.

"Sylvie!" he exclaimed and jumped out of bed.

He hurried out the door and down the hall.

"Sylvie!?"

**[ Teaching Feeling – Ivory Fiber ] **( JorgeMx ) **(Loop)**

A shaking silver hedgehog was in the kitchen, standing in front of the sink. She slowly turned around in fear, revealing a washcloth in her hands.

"Sylvie?" Siris asked, slowly approaching her, "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Mmmmm…."

Siris looked behind her and saw Spirit nervously rubbing two of his arms together.

"_Spirit_…" Siris groaned, "What did you do?"

***Slow Warbles***

Siris took a deep breath through his nose and gave a heavy sigh.

"Remember when I told you your pranks would come back to bite you in the rear?" he asked the Jade Wisp.

Spirit hung his head in shame and turned to Sylvie. He said something to her, but she couldn't understand.

"He said he was sorry," Siris translated for her as he approached her, "and that he'll pay for the plate- wait, what plate?"

***Cr-ck***

He glanced down and saw the pieces of the broken plate.

"I'm sorry," Sylvie said sadly, "I didn't mean to break it."

"It's alright, Sylvie. It was just a plate."

He noticed that she was still barefooted, not that she had any footwear to begin with.

"Here, take my hand," he told her as he offered out his hand, "I'll pull you away from the fragments, so you don't hurt yourself."

Sylvie was hesitant and just stared at the hand.

"Sylvie," Siris said calmly, "I won't hurt you. Promise."

She blinked a couple of times before nodding and taking his hand.

"On the count of three, jump, okay?"

"Okay," she replied timidly.

"One… two… three!"

Sylvie gave a little hop into the air and Siris lightly tugged her towards him as he took a step back. As she landed, Siris used his free hand to grab her shoulder and steady her.

"You okay?" he asked, "No cuts?"

"I'm okay…" she replied.

Siris let her go and gave her a pat on the head. He then glared at Spirit.

"Did you _have _to prank her?" he asked.

Spirit replied with a bunch of warbles and gestures.

"***Sigh* **Alright, just… just don't pull any of those pranks anymore," said Siris, "I don't want you to accidentally repeat what just happened."

**( Music Fades )**

**[ Teaching Feeling – Silver Glass ] **( JorgeMx ) **(Loop)**

Spirit nodded and floated towards the living room. Siris sighed again and suddenly heard someone sweeping up the broken pieces of the plate. He spun his head around and looked down, where he saw Sylvie with a dustpan and small broom.

"Oh, you don't have to do that, Sylvie," he told her.

"But…" she replied, pausing her actions, "I-I am your slave… I must do something."

Siris stared at Sylvie for a moment before something crossed his mind.

"Why were you up so early? Were you hungry or something?"

"N… no…" Sylvie replied nervously, "The dishes were dirty from last night… I thought Master would want me to clean them before he woke up…"

Siris glanced over to the sink and noticed that a couple of plates were already cleaned and set aside before they would be put away.

"Hmm…" Siris hummed as he crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

"I can't just sit around and do nothing…" Sylvie added.

"Maybe she's worried that if she feels useless that I might get rid of her," Siris muttered to himself, "… Sylvie?"

"Ah… yes?"

"Do you think you can do simple chores around the house?"

"… I'll do whatever you command me to do," she replied timidly.

"I suppose I could allow you to do some simple cleaning," Siris sighed, slightly uncomfortable having her be something of a maid, "There's very little laundry, and I supposed you could do the dishes and dust the rooms. How does that sound?"

"Simple cleaning and laundry…" she replied, "Yes, I understand. I will do my very best."

"Very well," said Siris, giving her a pat on the head, "I'll make us some breakfast while you clean up this mess. We'll do the dishes together after we eat."

Sylvie watched as Siris made his way over to the fridge.

"Spirit, you will stay on that couch until breakfast is ready," Siris said over his shoulder, "No more pranks, and you will remain asleep until dinner is ready. Got it?"

The Jade Wisp, who was resting on the couch, raised a tentacle and waved off the request.

"I know you're trying to brush it off, Spirit," Siris told him, "I'm serious."

After sweeping up all the plate fragments, Sylvie went over to the trash bin and dumped them inside. Siris walked behind her with some eggs and bacon in his hands.

"Master…" Sylvie began, getting Siris' attention, "Master is a doctor, right?"

"More of a… humble town doctor," Siris replied as he grabbed a couple of pans from the cupboard.

"… Just a humble town doctor…" Sylvie repeated, "Is there a difference?"

"Maybe," Siris shrugged as he cracked a few eggs open into a bowl, "Depends on who you ask."

He glanced over his shoulder and noticed Sylvie was standing behind him.

"Why don't you sit at the table," he suggested, "Breakfast should be ready in about 15 minutes."

"Understood, Master," said Sylvie.

**( Music Temporarily Fades )**

Unnoticed by the house's occupants, someone was watching Siris and Sylvie through the window from behind the trees of the forest; filming them on camera.

"_So… the target appears to be making friends with the slave," _a modulated voice said through a radio.

The camera zoomed in, showing Siris bringing scrambled eggs and bacon to the table and distributing the food amongst the others.

"_This might provide the final push needed for my master plan to finally begin," _the voice continued, _"Continue surveillance on the hedgehog. Remain undetected and provide no protection nor harm."_

Spirit floated over his empty plate and targeted the extra food in the center of the table. An irritated Siris grabbed him by one of his arms and held him back, reprimanding him at the same time as Sylvie ate and watched silently and emotionlessly.

"_We shall see if the hedgehog proves promising for my plans… We shall see…"_

**( Music Fades Back In )**

"How was the food?" Siris asked as he picked up the emptied plates.

"It was very delicious," Sylvie replied, "Thank you very much."

Siris gave her a friendly smile just before he glanced over at the clock.

"I better get ready soon before I open my clinic," he said.

He went to the sink and placed the dirty dishes inside with the ones from the previous night.

"If it helps…" said Sylvie, "I could clean the dishes while you get ready."

"That would help," Siris said as Sylvie stood next to him and began washing, "It shouldn't take me too long. Don't rush yourself, I'll be back to help in a few minutes."

He then turned his attention to the drowsy Wisp.

"As for you…"

***Warbles***

"Damn right," said Siris as he went into the hall and disappeared into his bedroom.

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

"Alright," Siris announced as he emerged from his bedroom; showered and wearing his white lab coat, "we'll quickly finish the remaining dishes and then I'll open-"

He halted the moment he saw Sylvie placing the last of the silverware away in the drawer.

"… up," he finished, "You're… done."

Sylvie turned around and held her hands together.

"Was I not working to your liking?" she asked, her face falling, "I'm sorry… I will work faster next time."

"No, that's not it at all," Siris assured her as he quickly browsed through the cupboards and drawers to check everything's cleanliness, "I'm just… surprised that you worked this quickly. And with great results. Everything is _spotless_."

Sylvie's ears lowered and she turned away.

"Are you… going to hit me now?" she asked.

"Heh," Siris chuckled as he patted her head, "Never."

As the previous times, Sylvie remained unmoved by the gesture.

"… Is there any meaning in doing this?" she asked, "I don't… really understand…"

"It's just a gesture of kindness," Siris answered, "I understand if it's something foreign to you, but maybe someday you'll feel positivity from it."

Sylvie just stared at Siris, not really sure if what he said can be possible.

"Anyways, I've gotta open up," he said as he stopped patting, "As I've said before, you can dust the rooms and do the laundry. My clinic is right through that door over."

Siris pointed a thumb over his shoulder towards the door next to the kitchen.

"If you need anything, don't be afraid to knock on the door," he told Sylvie, "If I don't answer, you can enter and sit on one of the chairs inside. Just wait until I show up."

"… Understood," said Sylvie.

"Also…" Siris added as he made his way to his clinic, "I'll be back around noon and make us lunch."

"Okay," Sylvie replied, "Have a nice day."

As Siris made his way through the doorway, he took one last glance at Sylvie and saw that she still appeared emotionless and lonely. He gave her another kind smile before closing the door behind him.

**( Music Fades )**

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

A few hours later, Siris came back through the same door. Sylvie was busy dusting one of the bookcases in the living room when he arrived.

"Oh," Sylvie exclaimed softly when she heard the door close, "Welcome back, Master."

"Uh, thanks, Sylvie," Siris replied, trying to hide his irritation from her.

He took a deep breath and sighed, trying to cool off.

"Has Spirit caused any issues for you?" he asked.

"No, he's been sleeping," Sylvie answered, "I'm sorry… I haven't finished cleaning the living room yet. B…but I finished doing the laundry."

"No need to worry," Siris said as he glanced around and saw how spotless the tables and counters were, "You're doing a wonderful job. Don't push yourself."

Sylvie didn't reply as she went back to cleaning the shelves.

"Hungry?" Siris asked.

"I'm fine," Sylvie replied.

"I'm not really hungry either," said Siris as walked down the hall, "I'm running low on a couple of things for the clinic and I'll have to go buy them."

"You're going out?" Sylvie asked, glancing over her shoulder.

"Yeah," Siris replied from his bedroom, "It shouldn't take too long. Maybe two hours at the most."

"I see…" Sylvie said as Siris returned without his lab coat, "Then… have a safe trip."

"Actually…" Siris said as he stood behind Sylvie, "I was wondering if you'd like to join me."

"Eh?"

Sylvie turned around, confused.

"You want me… to join you?" she asked.

"If you want," Siris replied, "If you don't want to, you don't have to."

"... No, it's fine," she said, "If that's what Master wants, then I will do so. I cannot carry many heavy things, but I will accompany you."

Although she said it was okay, Siris could tell that Sylvie was getting anxious. He wondered if she was ever allowed outside when she with Hemberg. Before he could ask, Sylvie had already put down her dust cloth and was standing before him; ready to follow him into town.

"Alright then," he sighed, "Let's get going. Like I said, it shouldn't take too long."

"Er?"

Siris and Sylvie turned their heads and saw Spirit peaking over the armrest of the couch.

"Go back to sleep, you," Siris told him as he re, "We're just going out for some light shopping."

The Wisp lowered his body and laid back on the couch.

"C'mon," said Siris, "The sooner we leave, the sooner we can get back."

He led Sylvie out the front door and locked it behind them. Spirit peaked over the couch once more and briefly wondered what the future would hold. Siris put his house key away and began walking along the road, with Sylvie close behind. Neither said anything for a couple of minutes, until Siris asked Sylvie a question.

"I see that you're not limping anymore. Does your leg still hurt?"

"No," Sylvie replied, "It's still a little sore, but it doesn't hurt."

Siris took a deep breath and sighed.

"Sylvie…? Exactly what kind of life were you living until now?"

"Eh?"

Sylvie looked up at Siris.

"When I was with my previous master?"

Siris nodded.

"… I was whipped daily, amongst other things."

Siris slowed down so Sylvie could walk by his side.

"That's awful…" he said as his eyes fell, "How did you even end up with Hemberg? Didn't you have any family?"

"I was put into an orphanage when I was younger," Sylvie explained, "I was then sent to a facility, where my previous master got me."

"How long were you like this?"

"… I'm not really sure… but it has been a long time."

"And the scars?"

"I got them when my previous master poured corrosive chemicals on me… I'd rather not remember it."

Siris reached over and gave Sylvie a couple of pats on the head.

"Don't worry," he comforted her, "Nothing like that will ever happen to you again."

Sylvie was unaffected by the patting, but she didn't resist either.

"We're almost in town," said Siris, pulling his hand away.

Sylvie didn't reply, but she did shift slightly closer to Siris as they walked together, and it didn't go unnoticed by the taller hedgehog.

**[ Teaching Feeling – Ochre Breeze ] **( JorgeMx ) **(Loop)**

A couple minutes later, Siris and Sylvie were making their way through the streets of Blue Moon Village. She wasn't complaining, but Siris noticed that when they passed by other people, Sylvie would slow down and hide behind Siris or she would avert her eyes to avoid their gazes. He noticed a less populated route down an adjacent street and abruptly walked around the corner.

"Let's go this way," he told Sylvie, "Seems less crowded and I'm sure it'd make you feel better."

"… Yes, it would," Sylvie said softly, "But… won't this take longer to finish your shopping?"

"Eh," Siris shrugged, "An extra 10 minutes isn't going to be a problem."

A moment later, Siris stopped, almost causing Sylvie to bump into him. A store with a strange atmosphere had caught his eyes. He couldn't see inside through the windows, so he had no way of knowing what kind of store it was.

"Master?" Sylvie asked, confused, "Is this… where we will be shopping?"

"I'm not sure, Sylvie," he replied, "I haven't been to this part of town in a few months, but this store… I've never seen it before."

Siris reached out and grabbed the door handle.

"Let's take a quick look inside."

**( Music Fades )**

**[ Teaching Feeling – Brilliant Red ] **( JorgeMx ) **(Loop)**

Siris pulled the door open and he and Sylvie entered. It seemed that the store dealt with mostly women's clothes. However, almost all of them had strange patterns and eccentric designs. Siris raised a brow as he approached one of the dresses on display.

"Wait…" he breathed, "I recognize this design…"

"Oh my… welcome," said a honeyed female voice.

Siris' eyes widened and he froze in place.

"I'm surprised it took you _this _long to find me," the voice continued.

Siris turned around and found himself looking up at blonde woman who was smiling at him. She had bangs that spiraled a couple inches below her chin and bright crimson irises. She was wearing a cherry black bustier that was attached to a gothic black blazer and a black voile bustled skirt with side slits, which partially revealed her black stockings. Upon her head was a two-foot-long black bycoket with a long black feather.*****

"Aurelia…"

The woman's smile slightly grew; becoming creepy enough to give Spirit a run for his rings.

"Hello, Siris," she said, "It's been a _long _time."

The hedgehog, with his hands held out, was at a complete loss for words.

"What's wrong, Siris?" the woman teased, "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"M-master?" Sylvie asked nervously.

"Oh,_ 'Master'_, huh?"

"Huh?" Siris exclaimed, "Uh…"

The woman chuckled playfully as Siris awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"That's not important right now," she smiled before turning to Sylvie, "My, my! Aren't _you _just the cutest thing!"

"Eh?" said Sylvie.

"Are you looking for clothes for this girl today?" Aurelia asked, her eyes darting back to Siris, "Am I right? Please let me be right! No… I must be right!"

Her eyes narrowed.

"What… Why… D-don't give me that look, Aurelia!" Siris exclaimed, feeling a bit flustered.

"Well, why else would you enter my shop?" Aurelia asked, raising an eyebrow, "Was it simply curiosity?"

"Yes?" Siris replied, wondering if Aurelia was being serious or not.

"I mean, I may be out of place for saying so," she continued, "but as someone who sells clothes, I just can't excuse the way that she's dressed."

She glanced down and took Sylvie by the hand.

"Could you please wait her for a little bit, Siris?" Aurelia asked, "I'll choose something that's just perfect for her."

Sylvie turned to Siris, wondering what to do.

"Just… just go with her, Sylvie," Siris told her, "I need a bit of time to take this all in."

She looked more worried now.

"Aurelia's an old friend of mine," he explained.

"_Old_?" Aurelia playfully asked.

"Oh, shut up, you," Siris told her before he turned back to Sylvie, "She won't hurt you or anything, she just wants you to try on some new clothes."

"… Okay," Sylvie sighed.

"Don't worry, little one," Aurelia smiled, "I have the perfect dress for you."

"Eh… Ah…" Sylvie muttered as she was dragged deeper into the store.

As the two ladies disappeared from sight, Siris put his hands on his hips and chuckled to himself.

"What are the odds?" he muttered.

With nothing better to do, Siris began perusing through the aisles to see what else Aurelia had for sale.

"Ah… nightgowns."

He grabbed a pair of nightgowns, one black and one white, and held them over his shoulder.

"I should also buy some undergarments for Sylvie," he noted, "I should probably wait until-"

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

Siris turned around and saw Aurelia standing beside Sylvie; his eyes widened when he saw Sylvie's new clothes.

"How is this, _old _friend?" Aurelia asked.

Sylvie was now wearing a delft blue apron dress with white sleeves and a matching skirt that went down to just below her knees. Her gloves were replaced with new white ones that had a blue bracelet around each cuff and she now had short black boots with blue cuffs on her feet. A couple of her quills were held aside with a couple of blue hairpins on each side, no longer blocking her eyes. As a final touch, Aurelia had tied some of Sylvie's quills behind her head with a blue ribbon, giving her something of a ponytail.

"Isn't she completely different from before?" Aurelia smirked.

"That's an understatement," Siris replied.

Although she looked more appropriately dressed, Sylvie didn't look comfortable wearing such wonderful clothes. Siris wondered if it was because she wasn't used to wearing other clothes.

"Having a girl her age wear only a single rag is just… too much," Aurelia said as she strolled towards the register, "Don't you think these are much more fitting? I strongly recommend buying these clothes."

"Ha!" Siris exclaimed, "Like I needed any convincing."

Sylvie followed him to the counter as he pulled out his pouch.

"I'd also like to buy these nightgowns," he told Aurelia as he handed them to her, "How much?"

"Normally… I'd sell these for 250 rings," Aurelia explained, "But for you, I'll give you a discount. 200 rings."

"Aurelia, I can pay the full 250," said Siris as he handed his bag of rings to her, "It's not like I'm gonna be tight on money any time soon."

Next to the register was an item box on a scale. Aurelia placed the bag in the item box and golden energy transferred from the bag, through the item box, and into the register via a large cable.

"That was a very wise decision," said the blonde, "One's looks can affect one's dignity."

The number of rings transferred appeared on the display above the register.

"_Aurelia_…" Siris said sternly, "I'm not taking the discount."

"Too late," Aurelia replied as she placed the bag before Siris, "The transaction has already been complete."

Her eyes narrowed as they glanced towards Siris.

"Now she looks like a dignified lady worthy of you."

"Who said I was single?" Siris smirked.

"Who said you weren't?" Aurelia retaliated, "Small town, people talk."

Siris groaned in annoyance and took back his rings. Aurelia placed the nightgowns in a bag and held it out to Siris. As he took it, he noticed Aurelia giving him a strange look. One that he knew too well.

"Hey, Sylvie?" he asked over his shoulder.

"Um… yes?" she replied.

"Why don't you go and grab a couple of pairs of undergarments for yourself?" Siris suggested.

"Eh?"

"He means bras and underwear, sweetie," Aurelia clarified for her, without taking her eyes off the dark blue hedgehog, "Do you remember the size I gave you?"

"… Yes," Sylvie answered timidly.

"You can find what you need on along the wall over there," Aurelia told her, pointing to her left.

"Is it… okay for me to go alone?" Sylvie asked.

"It's fine," Siris replied, "Just grab a couple of pairs and I buy them. It's not a problem at all."

"If that is your wish," Sylvie replied and awkwardly made her way over to where she was directed.

"So…" Aurelia began, arms crossed, once Sylvie was far enough away, "She calls you 'Master'?"

"It's… complicated," said Siris.

"I know she's a slave, Siris," Aurelia continued, "And I know that she was given to you as one."

"First of all, she _**was **_a slave," Siris corrected, "Second of all… how the heck do you know she was given to me? How did you any of this?"

"I overheard some very shady individuals mentioning you yesterday," Aurelia explained, "One of them had a brown fedora."

"Fang…" Siris growled as his eyes weakly began to glow.

"He and his friends made shop here for the day to sell their wares," Aurelia continued, "By the time I closed up my store, they were long gone. Must have left town."

"Hmph," Siris scoffed as he calmed down, "Hope they don't come back."

"I wouldn't put money on that," Aurelia sighed, "But back to the topic in hand…"

"What more is there to say?" Siris shrugged, "So I took in a former slave girl; big deal."

"This coming from a former slave himself?" Aurelia asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I would _never _do to anyone what happened to me," Siris hissed.

"Oh, really?"

"… Well, unless they are very bad people and they deserve it, but that's not the point."

"And what exactly _are _your intentions with her, Siris?"

Siris took a deep breath and sighed.

"Honestly… I don't know yet," he answered, "For now, I'm gonna take care of her and see where this goes."

"That's it? That's your plan?"

"You got a better one?" Siris asked, "It's not like I could just ignore her."

"Hmm… Well, I hope you take good care of… I'm sorry, what's her name again?"

"Sylvie."

"Sylvie, yes…" Aurelia smiled, "Take good care of her."

"I have no reason to not to, nor will I."

"I do not doubt that," said Aurelia, "Speaking of taking care of people… How's Spirit doing?"

"He's fine," Siris replied, "A pain in the ass on occasion, but he's good company."

"Where is he now?"

"Sleepin'."

"Um… Master?"

Siris turned around and saw Sylvie standing behind him with a couple of pairs of white panties and bras.

"Will these do?" she asked, holding them up.

"I think only you can decide that," said Siris, "Are you sure these are the ones you want?"

Sylvie remained silent, occasionally glancing over at the voluptuous woman nervously.

"Those are the same ones I gave her with that dress," Aurelia told Siris, "You can have those as a g-"

"Nope!" Siris smirked as he rushed behind the counter and tossed his rings in the item box, "I'm paying full price, whether you like it or not!"

"Siris!" Aurelia gasped, "How rude of you!"

"Yeah, I know, I'm jerk," Siris replied as he vaulted himself over the counter, "Now how much do they cost?"

After another minute of arguing, Aurelia finally relented and allowed Siris to pay for the undergarments, but not without a discount.

"Jeez…" Siris sighed as he put his rings away, "Two years and you're still a pain in the ass."

"I've missed you too, Siris," Aurelia chuckled, "We should catch up sometime."

"Yeah… we should," Siris replied, "Well, we better get going. I still have other errands to run before I must open my clinic up again."

"Aww, you have to leave so soon?" Aurelia teased.

"Thankfully, yes," Siris dryly joked, "How about we do lunch tomorrow. Café in the plaza?"

"The one near the fountain? I know it," Aurelia replied.

"Perfect," said Siris, "Well, nice seeing you again, Aurelia, if not also… _surprising_."

"Surprising indeed," said Aurelia, "Take care. And you too, Sylvie."

"Eh? Umm… thank you very much," Sylvie replied.

Aurelia watched as the two hedgehogs left the store and leave her sight. She sighed and pondered over the events that just transpired.

"Hmm…" she hummed as her grin grew larger, "This should be _very _interesting…"

She barely glanced away from the door before it opened and another customer came inside.

"Guess who's here~!"

**( Music Fades )**

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

**{Notes}**

*** Aurelia is exactly the same as she is in "Teaching Feeling". Her character belongs to Ray-Kbys.**

"**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

**Sorry it took so long to get this out. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm not sure when Chapter 4 will be out as I will be now focusing back on my DP: Season 4 fanfic for another 2 or 3 episodes. But it will come out!**

**Like, follow, and please review! Until next time!**

**~ThePhantomHedgehog**


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